Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider)

A Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) is an ACTIVITY GROUP.

A Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) is the time a PATIENT spends in the continuous care of one CONSULTANT using Hospital Site or Care Home bed(s) of one Health Care Provider or, in the case of shared care, in the care of two or more CONSULTANTS. Where care is provided by two or more CONSULTANTS within the same episode, one CONSULTANT will take overriding responsibility for the PATIENT and only one Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) is recorded. Additional CONSULTANTS participating in the care of PATIENTS are defined as Shared Care Consultants. A Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) includes those episodes for which a GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER is acting as a CONSULTANT.

A PATIENT going on Home Leave, or Mental Health Leave of Absence for 28 days or less, or has a current period of Mental Health Absence Without Leave of 28 days or less, does not interrupt the Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider).

A PATIENT may not have concurrent Consultant Episodes (Hospital Provider) but can have Consultant Out-Patient Episodes overlapping with a Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider). A Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) must not overlap with a Nursing Episode for the same PATIENT.

Any time spent as a LODGED PATIENT before being admitted to a WARD is included in the first Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider).

A CONSULTANT transfer occurs when the responsibility for a PATIENT transfers from one CONSULTANT (or GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER acting as a CONSULTANT) to another within a Hospital Provider Spell. In this case one Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) will end and another one begin.

A transfer of responsibility may occur from a CONSULTANT to the PATIENT's own GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER (not acting as CONSULTANT) with the PATIENT still in a WARD or Care Home to receive nursing care. In this case the Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) will end and a Nursing Episode will begin.

A transfer of responsibility from the PATIENT's own GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER to a CONSULTANT while the PATIENT is in a WARD or Care Home for nursing care will end the Nursing Episode and begin a Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider).

During the Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) a number of Patient Procedures and PATIENT DIAGNOSES may be recorded.

If this is the first episode under a CONSULTANT in one of the psychiatric specialties within the Hospital Provider Spell, the appropriate PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT STATUS CODE  should be recorded.

There may be one or more Mental Health Clinically Ready for Discharge Periods  recorded during a  Care Professional Admitted Care Episode  in one of the psychiatric specialties (see MAIN SPECIALTY CODE (MENTAL HEALTH).

An Emergency Care Attendance  should be recorded where a PATIENT  who is admitted to a Hospital Provider Spell  and Care Professional Admitted Care Episode  at the same Health Care Provider, is taken to the Emergency Care Department  for treatment because the required resources are not available on the WARD to which the PATIENT  is admitted. The Hospital Provider Spell  and Care Professional Admitted Care Episode  are not interrupted by an Emergency Care Attendance  of this nature. The Emergency Care Attendance  record should identify the appropriate URGENT AND EMERGENCY CARE ATTENDANCE SOURCE (SNOMED CT)   SNOMED CT  concept for a PATIENT  attending an Emergency Care Department  from a WARD  setting.

Health Care Providers  should note, however, that before they commence such recording of Emergency Care Attendances  for admitted PATIENTS, they should discuss this with their commissioners (e.g. Integrated Care Board). If the commissioner is not willing to fund the Emergency Care Attendance  in addition to the Care Professional Admitted Care Episode, then the Emergency Care Data Set Version 4  record must be excluded from the National Tariff Payment System  process. This is done by following the guidance on the NHS SERVICE AGREEMENT IDENTIFIER  data element in the relevant Emergency Care Data Set Version 4  record.