Background

The NoECCN was established in July 2009 as a result of the merger of the two previously successful and well established managed clinical networks; North East & Cumbria and Tees Valley & South Durham. This single unified structure has further enabled effective engagement with the clinical pathway groups based on patient flow rather than administrative boundaries, providing a cost effective and sustainable structure throughout the North East and North Cumbria. It has now been established as an Operational Delivery Network (ODN) by NHS England.

The North of England Critical Care Network covers population in the North East, North Cumbria, Tees Valley, South Durham and North Yorkshire areas (approximately 3 million people).

Scope and Terms of Reference

NoECCN will focus on operational delivery, and will ensure outcomes  and quality standards are improved and evidenced based networked pathways are agreed.  

NoECCN will support the activity of Provider Trusts’ in service delivery, improvement and delivery of a commissioned pathway, with a key focus on the quality and equity of access to service provision. 

A key  role is to act as an advisory body in the development, setting, maintenance and dissemination of , high quality evidence based standards of critical care across the region.

Network Purpose

The core role of the Network is to act as an advisory body in the development, setting, maintenance and dissemination of safe, high quality standards of critical care within the region.

Aiming to optimize care delivery systems, resulting in:

• Effective, humane and equitable evidence based critical care to those in need - patients and carers
  
• The right care in the right place at the right time given by the right people.
  
• A hospital-wide approach to early identification and assessment of critically ill patients
  
• Measurement, evaluation and action to continue to improve patient access, experience and outcomes
  
• Prediction of demand and planning of capacity across the whole health care system
  
• Supported, developed and valued teams
  

High level strategic aims and objectives

• To establish NoECCN as a fully functioning and effective ODN
  
• To ensure equity of access  and  timely admission and discharge to and from critical care for all  appropriate patients
  
• Ensure effective clinical flows through the provider system through clinical collaboration for networked provision of services
  
• Engender a whole system collaborative provision approach to ensuring the delivery of safe effective services across  the patient pathway, adding value for all its stakeholders
  
• Facilitate cross-organisational multi-professional clinical engagement to improve pathways of care
  
• Enable the development of consistent provider guidance and improved service standards, ensuring a consistent patient and family experience
  
• To focus on quality and effectiveness through facilitation of comparative benchmarking and auditing of services, sharing of information, data and ideas with implementation of required  service improvements
  
• Fulfil a key role in assuring providers and commissioners of all aspects of quality as well  as  coordinating provider resources to secure the best outcomes for patients across the network
  
• Support capacity planning and activity monitoring with collaborative forecasting of demand, and matching of demand and supply.
  
• To support Provider Trusts‘ in the achievement and delivery of the adult and  paediatric service specification (NHS England), and the contained  quality standards relating to the NHS Outcomes Framework
  
• Strategic resilience and capacity management - provision and assurance of  preparedness, and delivery of a coordinated regional response to unprecedented pressures on critical care, via the North East Adult and Paediatric Critical Care Escalation Plans and Ethical Framework
  
• To facilitate collaborative working, bringing together providers and commissioners in the design and delivery  of high quality services and patient outcomes
  
• To ensure  that the work of NoECCN dovetails  into and underpins  the work programmes  of other Strategic Clinical and Operational delivery Networks
  
• To demonstrate and encourage openness and transparency