UEA expertise at forefront of region’s NHS resource planning
By: News Archive
Experts in areas such as infectious disease, statistics and health economics from the University of East Anglia (UEA) have been helping the region’s NHS plan and allocate resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Economics Consulting (HEC), a consulting academic group at UEA’s Norwich Medical School, have been coordinating efforts and contributing to planning the number of expected cases of the virus admitted to hospitals locally.
The team of 12 academics coordinated by Prof Ric Fordham, has brought together the group’s own skills in health economics, modelling, public health and data, with researchers from the Quadram Institute, consisting of statisticians and infection control experts.
Many of these academics are at the forefront of fast-moving COVID-19 research internationally and are from varied backgrounds including Prof Paul Hunter (infectious disease), Dr Julia Brainard (epidemiology and public health) and ecologist Prof Alastair Grant (modelling).
The team produce their own weekly forecast of expected bed demand, with the help of NHS and County Council analysts, and report to executive teams in NHS acute, community and mental health trusts across Norfolk and Waveney.
Organisations making use of the data include Norfolk and Waveney Health and Care Partnership, NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Queen Elizabeth King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Norfolk County Council and NHS Net.
This has enabled resources like staffing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and beds to be allocated, and so far this region has been able to cope with demand.
UEA experts have also been keeping in touch with frontline doctors and nurses, listening to their ideas around testing and treatments, and providing them with the research evidence currently available from around the world, to enable them to make decisions.
Prof Ric Fordham, said "We are very pleased to play our part in helping frontline staff in their battle against the pandemic. UEA and the wider Norwich Research Park is home to some of the world’s finest academics and this group brings together such a comprehensive range of expertise.
“When this is all over there will be many unanswered questions to try and explain and having learned much recently, we hope to play our part in that research too.”
Future questions about admission, discharge and managing people who have recovered back into the community have also been identified, as the number of those affected grows.
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