CONNECTPlus: Supporting families to “wait well” in the Paediatric Neurodiversity Pathway
CONNECTPlus updates the current referral model using digital tools to provide immediate help to families and reduce the pressure on services. CONNECTPlus offers:
- Video and text information to support and guide
- Development needs checklist
- Diaries/trackers to record what happens at home and school
- FAQs for common questions
- Links to local and key resources
- Support to frontline teams
The Challenge
- Growing waiting lists of families being referred
- Families waiting a long time for assessment
- Children suffering at home and school
- Inappropriate and poor referrals
- Reputational damage for the service
The Opportunity
To improve the lives of children, families and healthcare professionals by:
- Providing clear information, access to resources
- Empowering families to self manage their child’s behaviour in early years or whilst on a waiting list
- Improving parents understanding of their child’s needs and their ability to support them
- Overcoming the misunderstanding that a diagnosis needs to be made in order to support their child
- Reducing the risk of high priority cases being missed
- Reducing the volume of referrals and waiting times
- Enabling a joined up, family centred approach to the care pathway
Case Study
The neurodiversity digital pathway has been built alongside Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, converting the 'First Steps' handbook, Consultant Paediatrician Lisa Teoh devised in 2020. Download the full Case Study to read about the issues families are facing in Torbay and South Devon and how CONNECTPlus is being used to improve services and reduce anxiety for families.
Please also see The Guardian article about families waiting for 5 years for an appointment.
Who is CONNECTPlus for?
The package on CONNECTPlus is aimed at families, but also helps schools, community services and primary care by:
- Providing information to educate frontline teams
- Enabling frontline workers to offer support to families
- Reducing the pressure on the system
- Enabling earlier recognition of other needs
The Solution
Condition specific information
Explaining neurodiversity conditions in text & video format
Symptom trackers
Gathering information for more effective assessment
Frequently Asked Questions
Answering common questions to reduce phone contact
Localisation & Resources
Connecting families to local information and resources
Who are HCI?
At HCI we transform pathways of care using digital information to educate and empower patients and to improve their care. We do this using:
- Our CONNECTPlus app. The only app that allows patients to manage all their conditions in one place
- The Health and Care Video Library. Over 1,000 videos that support patients by educating them about their condition and treatment pathways
We work with over 20 NHS trusts and the Health and Care Video Library has been used by NHS England to support hospitals and GP practices nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic