Introduction
The Patient Support Call Centre (PSCC), established in 2009 under Hospital Authority, entails the application of information and communication technology to deliver high-volume telephone calls of professional advices by trained nursing staff to support target patients living in the community. Shortfall in the workforce was constantly faced by PSCC. In response to the tight manpower situation, PSCC needed to develop new methods to deliver services more efficiently.
Objectives
To enhance efficiency of PSCC services by restructuring service delivery process and empowering staff.
Methodology
The operation workflow of the 2 main services in the PSCC, High Risk Elderly (HRE) Program and Chronic Disease Management on Diabetes Mellitus [CDM(DM)] Program was examined and analyzed to identify the steps and areas that could be transferred to non-clinical staff. The service delivery process of both HRE Program and CDM(DM) Program were re-designed and the telephone Call-logging System was modified in order to support the real-time communication in job transfer between nurses and non-clinical staff. Documentation was facilitated through the enhanced IT system. To facilitate the implementation, training was provided to all staff with on-going monitoring by supervisors. Non-clinical staffs were empowered to participate in patient care for both High Risk Elders and DM patients.
Results & Outcome
With in-depth analysis, work that could be transferred to non-clinical staff had been identified. These included, calling High Risk Elders for outpatient appointment arrangement after assessment by PSCC nurses and providing recruitment call to DM patients to introduce CDM(DM) service through structured scripts. Careful workflow restructuring, IT system enhancement and staff training (included communication technique, IT system usage and documentation skills) enabled safe service delivery by non-clinical staff for both HRE and DM patients. 4 non-clinical staff had been trained with over 13,000 calls were handled by non-clinical staff in 2018. The restructuring not only sparing nurses more time to perform patient care but also increasing job satisfaction of non-clinical staffs by undertaking new role with more direct patient contact in the PSCC. Conclusions: The answer to the nursing workforce shortage is not only more staff. Modification in work flow and work transfer could help alleviate the situation and improve clinical staff efficiency. The smooth work transfer in service delivery relied also on the strong support from IT system enhancement. Wider workforce by empowering the non-clinical staff is essential to the future service development in the PSCC.
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