New service offers an alternative to care in hospital for frail elderly people
A pioneering new service which helps frail elderly people in Coventry to become more independent and safer within their own homes has been launched.
Your Health at Home is a new joint initiative which connects local health and social care professionals and creates multidisciplinary teams which includes members of the NHS, City Council services and voluntary sector.
The collaborative work between the team members aims to overcome organisational barriers; improve communication and ensure that patients’ care needs are met easily and efficiently.
The vision of the new service is to reduce hospital admissions for those aged 60+ and to support them to live well in their community. The teams work directly with GPs to identify high risk patients and formulate personalised care plans to ensure they stay out of hospital and receive care in the most appropriate setting and as close to home as possible. After a successful pilot, the service demonstrated that the establishment of a multidisciplinary team working directly in the community and closely with primary care can improve responsiveness to patient need.
Your Health at Home has been rolled out across the city since January 2016, with all GP practices able to make referrals to the service from 11 April 2016.
Jo Morris, General Manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, said: “We have been recruiting staff members for this new service since the start of the year and we now have a team in place to meet the demand of the community."
The Trust’s Interim Director, Justine Richards, explained why the service has been implemented: “The Trust has collaborated with colleagues across local health and social services, all working together to solve a problem within our system which is how we provide more joined up care for frail and elderly people in Coventry.
“Your Health at Home is important as it means that elderly and frail people can easily access more connected care and a level of support which is more responsive to their needs. Evidence suggests that as well as being more comfortable, patients treated within their homes make a far more complete recovery.”
If you know anyone living in Coventry who may benefit from this service, please encourage them to contact their GP. For further information visit www.covwarkpt.nhs.uk.