Excellence in Patient Care St John WA Care Link program connects repeat callers to care in the community St John WA

Team: Kelly Guest, Rudi Brits, James Knox, Lauren Davids

In 2022, St John WA (SJWA) piloted a repeat ambulance caller program, Care Link, to help address the unmet needs of a small cohort of patients who frequently call the ambulance service. An initiative of the SJWA Clinical Services department, Clinical Quality Manager (CQM) and Registered Paramedic Kelly Guest was seconded to lead the development and delivery of the program, working collaboratively with SJWA Project Manager James Knox.

Since Care Link is the first of its kind in Western Australia, SJWA worked closely with interstate ambulance colleagues during the initial phase of development to learn from their experiences with similar programs. Locally, SJWA partnered with the State Department of Health’s (DOH) Complex Needs Coordination Team trialling a co-attendance model and referral pathway. This partnership assisted to build efficiencies into their service delivery and provided both teams with an opportunity for expansion at the completion of the pilot period.

Upholding the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, the pilot program addressed two of the eight National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards – Partnering with Consumers Standard and Comprehensive Care Standard. Developed with the patient placed at the centre of their care, the pilot Care Link program is proactive and considerate in its management of repeat ambulance callers and avoids engaging in historically punitive and paternalistic conventions.

With wider organisational pressures restricting the timeframe to deliver the pilot program, case management was provided to a total of seven repeat callers, with their enrolment in the program staggered to allow for optimal resourcing. Overall, a 40 to 70 per cent reduction in ambulance activity was noted in six of the seven clients enrolled, as one client discontinued their enrolment and support service engagement. The pilot period ended in September 2022 and SJWA has begun work to implement the program permanently.