DHU will use one of their fleet of response vehicles to deliver a pilot service that supports patients in their homes.
A daytime falls recovery service is provided by Derbyshire-based health providers, with support from DHU’s Community Nurse team, between 6pm and 8pm in some areas. The pilot service, called ARC (Acute Response Car) will fill the gap for the falls recovery service between 8pm and 8am.
Falls recovery is not the only service available within ARC, extending to carrying out safe & well visits, complete clinical observations that supports the clinical lead to manage the patient at home; also Point of Care Testing will be available if indicated. The car will be staffed by two Health Care Assistants who are trained in all required elements to deliver a safe and professional service supporting patients to remain at home where clinically indicated.
DHU Head of Clinical Services Ian Ware said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer this enhanced service that will have significant benefits to patients and the wider health system. We know from our data relating to ambulance responses that there is a cohort of patients that fall late evening or early morning that require an ambulance response. “
“By extending our service to cover these periods, we can respond more quickly, reducing the risk of the patient deteriorating and needing a hospital admission. It also ensures that ambulances are more likely to be available to respond to those patients that are very urgent or there is a threat to life without being held up on less urgent cases.
Patient data suggests that between March and August 2024, the ARC would be required to respond to two falls response calls per night that would have previously required an ambulance, potentially freeing up more than 700 ambulance calls per year.
Rather than concentrate exclusively on falls, the ARC will also respond to virtual ward patients who need support overnight and provide point of care testing. This includes blood tests that can be analysed quickly that supports best management for the patient.
Emma Wardale is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner for DHU’s Virtual Ward, she added: “Our virtual ward patients can be safely managed at home but still require urgent care monitoring by a clinician. This can be done remotely through the virtual ward, preventing a hospital admission and enabling the patient to take control of their condition.
“By using the ARC, we can visit a patient whose condition has deteriorated overnight and use the point of care testing capabilities to offer rapid treatment in the patients home where we can. If hospital care is needed arrangements can be made by the team.”
“The aim is to treat as many patients as possible at home, prevent hospital admissions and take some of the demand away from ambulance services. It also means that emergency services are better resourced to respond to critical emergencies. For this group of patients, it means they will receive the support they need more quickly in their own home, with the follow up care to keep them there.”