The UCR service is a team of multiskilled health professionals who provide an urgent response in the community to east Surrey residents for conditions such as falls, dizziness, chest pain (non-cardiac origin) and urinary tract infection. From December 2021 to December 2022 the team have treated over 734 patients! Often patients are elderly and have other conditions which makes treatment more complex. The UCR team are trained to provide a holistic approach to care for such patients.
The aim of the UCR service is to give patients the right care in the right place, primarily in their home, to prevent hospital admissions or readmissions.
Patients are referred into the service from GPs, East Surrey Hospital, ambulance services and other healthcare professionals. Patients are triaged and assessed by the UCR team, if clinically necessary, patients will be seen within two hours. On average patients seen within the required two hours was 75%, the remaining 25% following risk assessment by a multi-disciplinary team were seen later that day or the next day if required.
This collaborative approach between health care providers helps to manage demand across our healthcare services for NHS 111, GP appointments, 999 calls and prevents patients being admitted to hospital when they can be cared for at home.
Over the past year patients, carers and health care professionals have experienced many benefits of the UCR Service such as:
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- Preventing hospital admission and the reduction in hospital acquired infection
- Point of care at patient’s own home which is often the preferred choice for the patients
- Patient focused, shared decision making involving the patient, family, and their GP
- Investigations at home for example blood test, urine test and bladder scanning
- Improved patient’s satisfaction and outcomes such as faster recovery by being cared for at home
- Close monitoring by the UCR team including daily clinical review for any signs of deterioration
- Quicker intervention and or treatment for example same day oral antibiotics
- Ongoing care needs met by further referral to other community teams for example for equipment in the home to aid mobility
- Trusted initial assessment by trained health care professionals enables faster onward referrals to other specialist teams.
The UCR Service has been well received across east Surrey, receiving excellent feedback from service users:
“The service is a wonderful way to ensure elderly people are kept out of hospital and treated promptly.”
“Your team gave excellent service and gave the patient great confidence in their competence.”
“Nurses were very thorough and kind with my mother- placing her needs front and centre.”
Commenting on the success of the UCR Service Lee Davies, Associate Director for Unscheduled Care, said: “I am so proud of the UCR team and their achievements. The service has significantly improved First Community’s ability to deliver enhanced and more effective first-rate health care in the community, and also supports us to continue working effectively with our partners, particularly primary care, to ensure people get the right help at the right time, including at pace, if necessary, to avoid them having to go into hospital.
“Our teams work incredibly hard to successfully deliver the right care to patients across east Surrey. The team have a continuous learning approach and constantly look for ways to improve the service and patient outcomes. Since starting (December 2021), the service has now supported and cared for 745 people in their own home, preventing the need for a hospital admission and saved over 2300 occupied bed days in East Surrey Hospital. I am delighted by the achievements of year one and really excited about how we will work to make the service even better for our patients and healthcare colleagues across east Surrey going forward.”
Dr Emon Farrah Malik from Townhill Medical Practise and Medical Advisor to the Board of First Community has found the service extremely helpful especially during the recent period of extreme demand on local health care services: “The NHS has been experiencing unprecedented pressures and primary care has been no exception. Our community colleagues have been instrumental in this effort and I can't thank them enough. The Urgent Community Response Team has been something of a lifeline to General Practice over these past several months, but particularly in these last few weeks. The team is so sensible, so well received by patients and their carers, so very willing to help and indeed so communicative with practices. It is this "Can Do" attitude and relentless commitment that places the UCR team as a fine showcase for how collaborative community care can serve our residents. They facilitate access to safe, sensible, considered and holistic input and allow patients to receive high quality care and carefully gauged care journeys. Thank you indeed to the UCR team - East Surrey General Practice and our patients could not be more grateful."