Helen Hunt, Assistant Programme Manager at Health Innovation West Midlands

In the evolving landscape of healthcare, integrating innovative technologies is paramount and can support the NHS in addressing pressing challenges such as, improving access to care, waiting times and staffing capacity, while streamlining operational efficiency.

One area of care making significant strides in revolutionising the diagnostic pathway is ultrasound technology. By enhancing diagnostic capabilities, ultrasounds are improving patient outcomes and overall quality of care. Traditionally, ultrasound scans required patients to wait for appointments in radiology, delaying crucial treatment — particularly important when treating children with haemophilia at risk of joint bleeds.

In January 2023, 21.3% of people waiting for a non-obstetric ultrasound waited over six weeks, highlighting systemic challenges in healthcare delivery. This situation underscores the urgent need for advancements in ultrasound technology; by enhancing diagnostic capabilities, ultrasounds will improve patient outcomes and overall quality of care from the NHS workforce.

Streamlining patient care

In the West Midlands we are seeing a huge push to help improve this. One such initiative is the Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) project, designed to enhance patient care and streamline processes within the NHS.

POCUS is an independent device engineered for the rapid capturing of ultrasound images directly at a patient’s bedside, facilitating timely diagnostic evaluation. It represents a revolutionary advancement in diagnostics and patient management.

The aim is to provide healthcare professionals, such as nurses and physiotherapists, with the tools and knowledge to feel empowered making clinical decisions. This empowerment is critical in managing acute conditions such as joint bleeds in paediatric patients, where timely diagnosis and treatment are vital. With POCUS, immediate interventions can be provided, enhancing the patient journey.

I have long been a major advocate for POCUS and have been lucky to represent this concept at innovation events to spread the knowledge and successes from the project to other parts of the nation. Recently I joined a panel with fellow medical leaders to talk about how human factors help support clinical outcomes and reduce errors effectively. By employing appreciative inquiry approaches, we can positively disrupt patient pathways  improving treatments and empower more staff to help advance tools such as POCUS into new medical settings.

Innovation in action

At Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH), a trial was conducted in the paediatric haemophilia department that showcased how POCUS can effectively support a nurse-led ultrasound approach. This has significantly enhanced the diagnosis and management of children with suspected joint bleeds.

By applying a human factors framework, the BCH team tackled key challenges and improved the patient pathway. 33% of patients who had ultrasounds confirmed joint bleeds and received factor medication, while 50% of those who didn’t have scans were still prescribed medication as a precaution – meaning that 23% of patients might be receiving medication unnecessarily.

This success in training staff in conducting point of care scans, is helping to reduce the number of unnecessary prescriptions and cutting down patient wait times, thus easing the burden on radiology services.

In Wolverhampton, for instance, patients seen in need of chest scans often rely on ambulance transport to reach the hospital, which can delay timely care. To further enhance urgent community response teams, we want to start seeing the implementation of POCUS. This will ensure patients are being managed in their comfort of their own home, therefore pressure is taken away from busy emergency departments. This could truly make a difference in addressing these issues and enhancing patient outcomes, allowing diagnosis and treatment to be made sooner.

In our trial at BCH, we saw how POCUS effectively reduced ultrasound wait times getting patients treatment faster, reassuring parents and carers. In the West Midlands, 58% of Medtech sites are at an advanced funding stage (Stage 4+), meaning they have secured significant financial backing to enhance patient care through technology and improve diagnosis and treatment.

Supported by the Health Innovation West Midlands innovator team, this initiative is set for further growth and expansion into other regions. Junior doctors will graduate with POCUS training, while senior doctors are actively incorporating it into their practice. This positive transition to effective ultrasound technologies is demonstrating that it complements, rather than interferes, with medical roles.

Barriers holding back distribution

The main barrier hindering the distribution of this type of solution is not the training itself but supplying adequate mentorship for clinicians. Ensuring that nurses and clinicians have access to experienced mentors is crucial for the successful implementation of this technology, and to its overall success for making a greater change to NHS systems.

In an ideal scenario, we will see a vast number of mentors, creating a robust support system that empowers healthcare professionals to utilise POCUS effectively.

A future-forward approach

My utopia is a future where POCUS is implemented across all hospital wards and where this life-changing technology is made accessible to all healthcare bodies. By making these kinds of devices widely accessible, hospitals can drastically reduce waiting times for ultrasound procedures and enhance the overall efficiency of diagnostics.

Distribution of POCUS will streamline workflows for healthcare staff, delivering timely and effective treatment. Ultimately, the integration of POCUS into routine practice is set to elevate the standard of care, ensuring that patients receive the attention and services they need without delay.

Together, stakeholders can bring the future of healthcare forward for staff and patients today, to improve and support the lives of those who depend on the National Healthcare System.

For more information, please visit https://www.healthinnovationwestmidlands.org/our_work/pocus/