Theme 4: Acute adult ambulatory care

We need to deliver more acute care outside hospitals that is safe and meets the needs of patients and their families. Increasingly, our current system of hospital-based assessment and treatment for acute illness is not able to meet the rising demand placed upon it. Point of care diagnostic tests, used within new care pathways will help our NHS develop a sustainable acute care system that meets the needs of our population.

The Adult Acute Ambulatory Care and Interface with the Future Hospital Theme will undertake research into different point of care tests that allow NHS clinicians to diagnose, reassure or monitor patients with acute illnesses so that they can spend more time at home, but still receive all the diagnostic tests that they need. We will carry this out in different settings such as Acute Ambulatory Care units, Emergency Departments, Out of Hours primary care bases and in patients’ homes.

We want to understand how point of care tests enable new models of acute care to be delivered that improve patient and carer experience, maintain high quality of care and clinical outcomes and determine how they can be affordable for the NHS.