How Community Pathways Helped Patients In Oxfordshire

In Oxfordshire, headaches account for 1 in 3 referrals to neurology outpatients departments.

However, when they analysed the numbers, Oxfordshire clinicians realised that only 34% of these referrals actually required expensive secondary care support in a hospital setting.

The volume of unnecessary referrals placed pressure on the outpatients department and caused delays in access for patients with other neurological conditions.

The challenge they set themselves was, how can the other 66% of patients be better supported in community settings?

The solution they came up with was a Community Headache Clinic. This was located at a community location easier for patients to access and closer to home.

This new pathway has been highly effective in supporting patients without the need for outpatient appointments. In the first three months, 89% of all headache referrals were directed away from neurology outpatients departments.

This slashed costs for the NHS, but it also led to much better outcomes for patients. For 79% of patients using the Community Headache service this was the first time they had ever been diagnosed.

Each patient leaves their consultation with a personalised care plan. This tells them how best to manage their headache at home. An initial evaluation of the service showed very high levels of patient satisfaction. Prior to their appointment, only 32% of patients felt able to manage their headache. This rose to 100% after the clinic appointment.

The project shows how new community-based models can play a critical role in delivering better outcomes for migraine patients and make best use of NHS capacity.

This case study is not connected to AbbVie in any way