With a new agreement on municipal acute functions and an annual DKK 4.2 million, general practitioners, the municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark and the Region itself will make sure that acutely ill patients receive the medical assistance they need.
PLO-H, the Health Coordination Committee and KKR (a collaboration of municipal councils) have all signed the agreement and now the individual municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark will be joining them.
An elderly woman can stay at home
“General practitioners can now prioritise their time to clarify acute illnesses for elderly citizens in collaboration with the municipal acute functions. For example, the municipal acute team is contacted by a general practitioner (GP) regarding an elderly woman who has had no previous contact with the municipality".
"The acute team visit the woman and make observations, after which they suspect an acute infection. The acute team and the GP then together assess that the woman does not have to be hospitalised. The GP prescribes antibiotics, and agrees how the acute team is manage treatment and observe the woman over the following days. The woman is pleased that she doesn’t have to go to hospital,” said the chairperson of PLO-H, Karin Zimmer.
The Region's emergency medical services could also be contacted about a patient who needs a catheter reinstalled. But instead of sending the patient on a stressful and inconvenient journey to hospital, the emergency medical services contact the municipal acute team to deal with the catheter.
More treatment close by
“The objective is to secure more treatment at home so that patients don’t have to move to receive good treatment. The agreement makes it possible for the GP and nurses from the municipality to work closely together to prevent patients from becoming so ill that they have to be admitted to hospital,” said Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (Social Democrats).
The agreement ensures a better transition after being discharged from hospital. The agreement means that citizens will experience a cohesive, high quality pathway, no matter whether they need treatment and care at their own home or at a municipal emergency department.
"The agreement is a really good example of how we want to strengthen the local healthcare system. It is vital for citizens that collaboration between municipal acute functions, general practitioners, hospitals and the emergency telephone service (1813) works well".
"Day and night, the municipal acute functions deliver a number of nursing services requiring very special skills, and citizens will now enjoy far more benefit from these," said Flemming Pless (Social Democrats), member of the Regional Council and the chair of the Health Coordination Committee in the Capital Region of Denmark.
"Citizens often prefer to be at home or in the local area. I hope that we can meet the wishes of many by preventing acute admissions through close cooperation between municipal acute functions and general practitioners, hospitals and the Region’s emergency medical services,” said Mayor Helle Adelborg (Social Democrats), Hvidovre Municipality.
Facts - agreement on municipal acute functions in the Capital Region of Denmark
- In connection with the cooperation agreement, the municipalities in the Region, PLO-H and the Capital Region of Denmark have negotiated a pilot scheme to remunerate general practitioners for supplying medical services to the municipal acute functions.
- The remuneration agreement will pay for 27,000 communication services a year between general practitioners and the municipal acute functions.
- The agreement describes the collaboration, tasks and procedures between the municipal acute functions, the general practitioners, hospitals and the emergency medical services of the Capital Region of Denmark. The agreement focuses on clear placement of the responsibility for medical treatment, mutual obligations regarding performance of tasks and communication with the municipal acute functions.
- The agreement stipulates that responsibility for medical treatment of patients linked to acute functions is either with the general practitioner, the physician at the 1813 emergency telephone centre or the hospital physician.
- For citizens, in the event of an acute need for a doctor, general practice will be responsible during the day (weekdays 8 am to 4 pm) and 1813 will be responsible in evening/night (weekdays 4 pm to 8 am) and at weekends and on public holidays. For citizens where hospital treatment is to continue after discharge from hospital, the hospital is responsible for treatment until hospital treatment is completed.
- It is expected that the agreement will help prevent admissions and re-admissions.
- Now it is up to the 29 municipalities to accede to the agreement politically, and it is expected to enter into force on 1 February 2020.
Further information
- Chairperson of PLO-H Karin Zimmer via the PLO-H press contact on +45 3544 1083 or +45 2332 2006
- Mayor of Hvidovre Municipality, Helle Adelborg (Social Democrats) via the press contact, tel.: +45 3639 3134
- Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Chairman of the Regional Council, through the press office at the Capital Region of Denmark, tel.: +45 7072 9588.
- Flemming Pless (Social Democrats) member of the Regional Council and chairperson of the Health Coordination Committee at the Capital Region of Denmark through the press office, tel.: +45 7072 9588.