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QI case study: iCaSH centralised call centre
- QI Case Studies
- QI Digital Automation and IT Systems
What is a QI Case Study?
Case Studies invite you to explore invaluable insights through a collection of compelling improvement projects from across the Trust. Read below for a quick take on how the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough iCaSH team developed their centralised call centre.
Improvement Name: iCaSH Centralised Call Centre
Date: January 2023
Deep Dive: Understanding the Problem
The challenge:
iCaSH clinics across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough had varied opening times which meant that some patients were unable to access services consistently. Appointments were booked for patients based on appointment availability of their local clinic. The commissioners were keen for a single point of access.
Investigation of current pathways:
Process mapping the current pathways for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough revealed opportunities for streamlining processes for call handlers and Health Care Assistants (HCAs).
Unveiled data insights:
Telephony-wide project - analysing demand and capacity.
Engagement:
Co-production (Friends and Family test feedback, contacts logged with Patient Advice and Liaison Service, and online focus groups), brainstorming exercises, workshops, surveys and Task & Finish groups.
Learning:
Gathered and reviewed learning from best practices across both localities.
Design: Designing the Change
Staff joined workshops to share best practices and redesign processes. Brainstorming exercises and surveys were undertaken to explore and generate improvement ideas.
The solution:
To implement a centralised call centre to increase access to service - providing patients with a choice where they would like to be seen. This allows patients to contact the service from Monday-Saturday whereas previously they were unable to get through if their site was closed. This includes increasing knowledge across the site for all call handlers to provide a more robust staffing cover in situations of reduced staffing.
Deliver:
Innovation and support:
The team developed joint standardised 'Telephone Triage' guidelines, a booking process and a training package, including undertaking a Team Away day training event. Strategies including site cross-over visits, shadowing and creating an MS Teams channel with Queries Nurse oversight to support staff with call handling across the four sites were also developed.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough centralised call centre was launched on 1st February 2023.
Enhanced monitoring:
Bespoke weekly phone stat reports were developed from a real-time telephony reporting platform to better understand call flow through the 0300 number during the transition period.
Piloting the change:
A test run was undertaken on 25th January 2023 and a survey was rolled out to capture staff feedback/ideas for further improvements and address any issues before launching the centralised call centre. The team progressed with the launch following positive feedback.
Evolve: Continuous Improvement
iCaSH Telephony service-wide review scheduled.
Lessons learnt:
- The sustainability of the initiative to continue was impacted by staff availability. This varied during the project.
- The Cambridgeshire team struggled to recruit due to temporary/fixed-term limited contracts.
- Mpox virus (MPV) had an additional impact on capacity - service provided vaccination programme.
- Country strikes i.e. postal strikes, nurse strikes, teacher strikes - impact on service. This led to a lack of staff, delays in patient results, and posting of patient medication and online test kits.
- Service initiatives were being implemented hence difficult to measure individual impacts.
The IOPB Board decided to roll back on the initiative on 1st June 2023. The reasons were due to the impact of the number of calls on the service, along with a change in the commissioning arrangements.
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Last reviewed:
1 March, 2025