West London NHS Trust (WLNHST) is taking the lead role in an innovative initiative that seeks to prevent hospital admissions and support patients directly in their own home.
Ealing Community Parners (ECP), a group on organisations led by WLNHST will be providing a new service that aims for 111/999 referrals to be made via a Single Point of Access (SPA) to North West London Urgent Response Teams (UCRs).
The service links eight UCRs covering Hounslow, Hillingdon, Brent, Harrow, Ealing, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, as well as Hammersmith and Fulham.
According to WLNHST, the aim is to provide effective support for patients to remain at home with quality care and prevent avoidable hospital admissions,
Leading the initiative is Chris Nowicki, team manager for ECPs Referral Hub. During an initial four months the service will be evaluated on its impact and provide recommendations on how it works for future plans.
Clinicians from across North West London will provide a clinical screening of referrals into the SPA and either transfer them to the local UCR for treatment or advise on alternative pathways.
Dr Christopher Hilton, chair of NHS England London Region Urgent Community Response Delivery Board, said: “This is an exciting project to build on the partnership working across NWL and provides an unique opportunity for clinical staff to work closely together, allowing them to align practice and learn from each other. It also allows NWL UCRs to expand on the existing work with partners / stakeholders to support patients to remain at home. Thank you to the staff who have supported the mobilisation of the service and to the clinicians who are contributing to the SPA.”
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