New 'at home' medical service launches in east Berkshire
Elderly and frail people could now be treated without leaving their homes
Frimley Health and Berkshire Healthcare (BHFT) are now providing acute hospital care in patients’ homes seven days a week, known as the Frailty Virtual Community Ward.
The Trust launched the service for older patients with frailty in north-east Hampshire, Farnham and Surrey Heath last year and the service is now being replicated by BHFT across east Berkshire. It now covers the entire Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System.
There are two teams covering the North and South of the ICS and comprising staff from Frimley Health, Berkshire Healthcare and the Healthcare Resourcing Group. The team can carry out blood tests, give IV medication, take electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, give nebulisers or oxygen, perform therapy assessments and provide equipment to support patients’ mobility.
The service also has seven-day consultant geriatrician cover so patients can be referred to the team over a weekend, helping to free up hospital beds and avoid hospital admission where appropriate.
The expansion comes as the Trust faces substantial operational pressures with more than 400 patients a day visiting each of our emergency departments. The team will take referrals from GPs, specialist community nurses, NHS 111, 999, and for patients being stepped down from acute hospital care.
Instead of being sent an ambulance or being asked to attend hospital or a GP surgery, patients can be seen in their own homes by the Urgent Community Response (UCR) team within two hours of referral. They will also have follow-up visits from the team as necessary.
Lucy Abbott, consultant geriatrician and chief of service for community services and older people’s medicine at Frimley Health, said:
“We were already ahead of the curve with our Hospital @ Home service.
“We had a team in place with the right skillset and a strong collaborative relationship with our local partners across the community.
“This expansion is a brilliant step forward for the service and will no doubt help more patients to get care they need within their own homes, while also helping to manage operational pressures across the system.”