Preventing hospital admissions by providing the right care, at the right time, at the right place

Wednesday, 20 December 2023

Wirral Community Health and Care’s 2hr Urgent Community Response Service (UCR) is an admission prevention service, providing people with urgent assessments, care and treatment in their own home for a short time. This service is for those people who may otherwise be at imminent risk of hospital admission.

The multi-skilled team respond to urgent referrals, completing assessments and delivering personalised care, treatment and support for people living in Wirral. Assessments are completed within 2 to 48 hours depending upon clinical need.

As part of the Community Integrated Response Team (CIRT), the 2hr UCR team has built excellent relationships with local primary care networks, mental health and community services, acutes, social and voluntary sector organisations and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). This close partnership working has resulted in Wirral’s Two Hour Community Response Service being one of the highest-performing teams for NWAS referrals across Cheshire and Merseyside.

For example, in October, the team responded to 228 calls in under two hours with 90.1% compliance, against the national target of 70%.

Each one of these referrals has meant patients can remain in their own homes and freed up ambulance crews to attend other calls across the region.

Patients have benefited from:

  • quick assessment and treatment
  • care and treatment in their own home or place of residence
  • avoiding an unnecessary admission to hospital
  • reduced stress and anxiety associated with hospital admissions
  • extra support when they get home from hospital

Patient case study

Following a GP referral into the two hour UCR, a joint face to face assessment was carried out by a nurse and therapist who found that patient was struggling with washing, dressing, and presented as confused. The assessment included taking patient bloods which revealed an infection, and antibiotics were prescribed following liaison with the GP.

The team wrapped around the patient, providing care at home and ensuring that the patient was safe. Therapy staff ordered equipment and assessed the patient using this in their own home. Health Care Assistants (HCA) were also put in place to support personal care and  meal support, and after a few days the patient had improved again, and the team were able to discharge the patient from the service.

Had the infection not been picked up quicky by the team, the patient would have deteriorated further causing increased confusion and reduced mobility, putting the patient at risk at home. Further deterioration would also have resulted in medical care being required in an acute setting via a 999 call and admission to A&E.

You can find out more about this service on the Wirral Community Health and Care website.