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Helping people recover closer to home with urgent community response

Many people who need urgent care can be supported by health professionals in their local community.

Urgent Community Response (UCR) teams can reach people quickly and provide urgent care to people in their homes which helps avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and supports people to be treated and recover at home in familiar surroundings – which is often their preferred choice.   

Who is part of UCR?

The teams are made up of nurses, therapists, advanced clinical practitioners and other health professionals from organisations across the county such as local hospitals, social care, ambulance services, and community care. 

They take calls from the ambulance service, paramedics attending patients at their homes, GPs, hospitals and other professionals to reduce the need for patients being admitted to hospital.   

By bringing together several key health services we can support people to get better at home.

 

Urgent Community Response in Oxfordshire

Our video shows how this service can support your loved ones closer to home when they need urgent care, but do not necessarily need to go to hospital. 

Across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West there are variations in how hospital at home services are delivered for the public. 

Watch the video here

Helping people recover at home with Hospital @ Home services

We can now offer hospital level support, care and treatment for a range of conditions in a patient’s own home (including care homes). We do this through our Hospital @ Home services. 

This means patients may not need to visit A&E or be admitted to hospital and they may also be able to leave hospital earlier than planned. 

Patients can be referred to these services by GPs, care homes, community health teams where the person is already receiving care, through NHS 111, via the ambulance service, A&E, or by their inpatient ward. 

Patients may receive monitoring and tests depending on need including: heart activity, respiratory rate, breathing rate, blood and urine tests, oxygen levels and infection swabs.

All patients are assessed by health professionals to understand their needs and receive care and treatment for up to 14 days in their homes, depending on their clinical needs and preferences