As winter places increased demand on hospital emergency departments, urgent community responders from Your Healthcare play a vital role treating people in the comfort of their own homes in Kingston, and in most cases avoiding a hospital admission.

The 2-hour Urgent Community Response Service, also known as rapid response, treats adults who are experiencing a sudden deterioration in their health and wellbeing, and without urgent response, are likely to be admitted to hospital.

The service also offers a falls 'pick-up' service where it is clinically safe (e.g. when there are no severe injuries) using a special lifting chair.

The team arrives within two hours of a call and anyone aged 18 and over can use the service, but it is particularly valuable for older and vulnerable people.

Your Healthcare district nurse Kyley Parfitt said: "We're called out for urinary tract infections (UTIs), chest infections, wound care and falls. I think of us as a ward with no walls because there's nothing that comes in that we don't adapt to". 

The team can make rapid decisions and allocate the right person to the call, which could be a district nurse, paramedic or other healthcare professional, depending on the nature of the issue. 

But the visits aren't just about tackling the immediate health needs of the patient.

They are a chance to see what else can be put in place to help with their daily life and maintain independence.

This could mean a referral to social care for extra support or input from occupational therapists with equipment to prevent falls, all helping to avoid future problems that might involve a hospital visit. 

Parfitt continued: "We understand that not only is home the place where people feel most comfortable and supported by their loved ones, but they also often have family, friends and neighbours close by to support them.

"Staying at home means they maintain their independence, which contributes to overall wellbeing.

 "We recently helped a gentleman who had burnt his hand. During the visit we realised he wasn't managing at home, so we made a social care referral.

"He was struggling to get in and out of bed and on and off the chair, so then it was about putting in equipment to help with that. We're a multidisciplinary team working to ensure that we get the best person to each patient." 

Treating people in their own homes and preventing attendance to emergency departments, when it's safe to do so, takes some of the strain off hospitals who can then focus on the sickest and most seriously ill patients who need hospital care. 

Your Healthcare's Urgent Community Response Service (rapid response) for Kingston operates between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week (last referral at 6pm).

Referrals are accepted from members of the public, health professionals, adult social care, 111, and the ambulance service.

The telephone number for referrals is through the Your Healthcare Single Point of Access number – 020 8274 7088.