Demand for urgent and emergency care (UEC) services such as emergency departments (EDs) is rising in the UK. Concerns have been raised regarding the consequences of increased strain on these services for specific patient groups such as children and young people. For parents and caregivers, deciding the most appropriate healthcare service for their child can be challenging, as children and young people are often extremely vulnerable with specialised healthcare needs.
This NIHR ARC PhD project has demonstrated how large quantities of routine patient data can be analysed using statistical techniques to provide insights into the use of UEC services (such as NHS 111, EDs and other aligned services) by children and young people. This project concluded that targeted interventions should be implemented to assist parents and caregivers when making health-related decisions for their child, whilst also considering the wider healthcare system and beyond.
