Respiratory on-call services (ROCS) are important for delivering timely, effective care to patients with acute respiratory physiotherapy needs. Ensuring these services remain safe, efficient, and responsive begins with clear principles, defined expectations, and service evaluation.
Explore how these key elements can help you maintain a patient-centred approach while aligning your ROCS with best practice.
Key principles of respiratory on-call services (ROCS)
- Services should have clear referral pathways and service specifications.
- Care should be delivered by the most appropriate service and practitioner.
- Services should be evidence-based, and data driven.
- The model of service provision should be appropriate to the nature of the service being provided.
- Decisions to review services must be evidence based, following appropriate review of wider service provision were necessary, and based on patient population needs, and respect and uphold the rights of workers.
Key expectations of ROCS
- Service specifications are explicit, well-defined and used appropriately.
- ROCS interventions are timely, necessary and are considered as part of a patient’s overall rehabilitation and recovery plan.
- ROCS services are delivered to meet the respiratory physiotherapy needs of patients and are delivered in appropriate service models.
- ROCS services are delivered by physiotherapists who have established, and maintained, the relevant skills and competence necessary to deliver the service.
- ROCS services are well-led, adequately resourced and linked to other relevant acute care services.
- ROCS services should be periodically reviewed to ensure that the service remains relevant and appropriate for the patient population served, and the staff resource available to it, and wider services provided within the hospital setting.
- Changes to ROCS is driven by data and evidence and is done in collaboration and engagement with staff and wider Executive Management, with appropriate formal consultation when required.
Evaluating your service
Use these factors to help you review your service and help your decision-making in redesigning your service to meet the needs of your patient population.
Understand the cornerstones of practice
- Legal factors: For example, the service’s obligation to provide reasonable adjustments.
- Regulatory factors: Consider the obligations of physiotherapists to adhere to HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Physiotherapists and Standards of Conduct, Performance & Ethics
- Professional and clinical guidance: Consider the relevant national level guidance for the management of acutely ill and/or deteriorating patients within general NHS hospital settings. Consider any current national speciality specific guidance for provision of physiotherapy services within the different ranges of service settings (Level 1, 2,3 etc).
- Quality improvement factors: Physiotherapy services should focus on delivering safe, effective, and efficient services that optimally utilise a physiotherapist’s capabilities within changing resource available to that service. Physiotherapy services should not be used to address shortfalls, lack of capacity, or skills in other services. Any change to services should be undertaken within an evidence-based and data driven model of improvement that balances the needs of patients, services, the well-being of staff and cost.
Further guidance to support members reviewing ROCS will be available shortly, including a framework for decision-making.
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