A new service began on 1 July run by DHU Healthcare will enable ‘at risk’ people who test positive for COVID-19 in Leicestershire to receive treatment that will reduce the risk of serious illness.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland COVID Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU), to be run by not-for-profit Community Interest Company DHU Healthcare, will provide intravenous medication upon referral and assessment, at home or within clinics at Thurmaston Health Centre.
The antivirals, known as nMABS (Neutralising Monoclonal Antibodies), work by providing those who are immunosuppressed or have underlying health conditions with the antibodies needed to fight off the virus. This can greatly reduce the risk of them developing complications from COVID-19 that could result in symptoms becoming severe and requiring hospital treatment or even admission.
Rob Robertson is Head of Clinical Services for LLR, he said: “As an organisation, we have been running this service in Derbyshire since December 2021 where they have triaged almost 8,000 people, a quarter of whom were deemed as requiring this treatment. Had it not been available to them, the risk of them developing severe symptoms would have been higher and they may have required hospital treatment.
“The treatment itself is really quite simple. These patients are unable to produce enough, or in some cases any of the antibodies needed to naturally fight off the COVID-19 virus. This means that they are at greater risk of the virus taking over and symptoms rapidly becoming more severe. Our nMAB programme provides these patients’ immune system with the antibodies that most of us can otherwise produce ourselves, enabling them to fight it off more effectively once they have tested positive.”
The treatment is designed to complement the vaccination programme; the vaccine providing the initial barrier with the treatment available if and when this group of patients contract COVID-19. It is all part of what the wider health system can do to help those ‘at risk’ live with the virus.
“We’re delighted to be able to offer this treatment outside of a hospital environment,” Rob added. “COVID positive patients can be referred to the Covid Medicines Delivery Unit Triage service from other parts of the health system, for example their GP, 111, District Nurse or a hospital, at which point they will be assessed over the phone.
“It consists of a 30-minute infusion followed by a one-hour observation delivered in one of three clinics running out of our Thurmaston Health Centre base. We can also provide it in people’s homes where patients are usually housebound. This type of treatment has been proven to reduce the risk of a hospital admission and, having delivered and expanded the programme ourselves in Derbyshire, this is a tremendous addition to our health service provision in Leicestershire as we begin planning for what will be another challenging Winter.”
The service will be provided at Thurmaston Health Centre across three clinics. These will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with arrival times given to patients once they are referred and assessed. The service will run until New Year 2024.
LLR Patient Care Locally (PCL) were approached by the LLR ICB to commission the service due to their collaboration as part of the region’s original Covid 19 vaccination programme. It was also seen as important to integrate covid medicine delivery into the primary care arena, identifying which patient care needs can be brought back into the community.
DHU Healthcare were chosen by LLR PCL to deliver the service due to their existing experience and expertise at providing a similar service within Derbyshire. DHU Healthcare is a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company that provides NHS services to patients, including 111, Urgent Care services and Out of Hours care to patients across the East and West Midlands and beyond.