DHU Healthcare has begun providing a Night Response Service in Northamptonshire.
A new and innovative addition to the urgent care service DHU already provides, the new service offers overnight urgent care to patients in their own homes, seven days a week.
Designed in partnership with the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), the service is clinically led by Advanced Practitioners and Healthcare Assistants. Between 11pm and 8am, they will be able to respond to falls, supporting the Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) with home visits to reduce the number of patients needing a hospital visit.
Catriona Strickland is DHU’s Head of Clinical Services for out of hours care in Northants and said: “Alongside the ICB, we’ve worked very closely with our own NHS 111 teams as well as the East Midlands Ambulance Service to ensure we get this right for our patients and partners.
“The aim of this service is to provide professional and compassionate clinical care and treatment at a time when it may be difficult for people to get the help they need. If a patient’s condition is urgent but doesn’t need emergency care, we can attend and provide on the spot treatment that reduces the number of unnecessary ambulance call outs and emergency department attendance.
“We know from running similar services in other parts of the Midlands, and from recommendations set out as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, that care at home, where appropriate, improves the patient outcomes and experiences. They retain their independence and feel more comfortable in the familiarity of their own environment and having a loved one near aids their recovery.”
Early indications are very positive with patients leaving reporting a fast response from our clinicians and the convenience and comfort of being looked after at home, whilst EMAS colleagues have been able to and prioritise genuine emergencies.
Catriona added: “This is an exciting step forward for the way we provide urgent care in Northamptonshire and taps into the future of healthcare, caring for patients in their own environments and supporting the wider system out of hours. We’re incredibly proud of the collaboration that has made this service possible and look forward to seeing the continued benefits to our patients, communities, and colleagues.”
Pictured above, left to right. Tony Jeans (Driver/HCA), Dan Glass (Paramedic) and Neil Poulson (Driver/HCA)