The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Intensive Home Support Service (IHSS) will be joining forces with the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust IHSS team from Monday, 3 October, to enable even more patients to access treatment from home.
The new Pennine Lancashire IHSS will help to further reduce avoidable hospital admissions by supporting patients across East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen to stay well at home by offering a full assessment service, treatments and medical reviews, all from their usual place of residence.
The service, which has been running separately across both Trusts for a number of years, is offered to patients aged 18+ through a referral from a health professional and helps to avoid hospital admissions, easing pressure on both Emergency Departments and ambulance callouts. The service also works within the hospital, with members of the team identifying patients who could be discharged, and their treatment continued at home. Those patients that have already been looked after by the service can self-refer back in – thus ensuring they can have quick access to an expert service that they are familiar with.
Through the new joint approach, patients across the area will now experience equal health provisions and targeted support by having more choice about where they access their care, with the benefit of avoiding disruption through unnecessary hospital visits.
Catriona Logan, Divisional Director of Operations for Community and Intermediate Care at ELHT, said: “As a Trust we have been developing the concept of a ‘hospital without walls’. By expanding and changing the way we work people are now better able to access the support they need, at the time they need it and without having to physically attend hospital.
“Our Home Support Service is a great example of this and we are delighted to be enhancing this service through the creation of the new Pennine Lancashire Intensive Home Support Service. This will build on the current East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen services to create a uniform offer across the whole area in order that patients enjoy the same level of service, regardless of where they live.
“Combining the two services, along with some development funding from the Integrated Care Board, has provided the opportunity to expand, meaning we are able to work towards offering a 24/7 service and deliver a more substantial IHSS service in our Emergency Department. This ultimately means we will be supporting even more patients in the comfort of their own home.”
The service currently aims to be with patients within two hours of a referral, with 98.2% of 338 responses in August hitting this target. With the new joint service, this response time is expected to improve further. Working with a larger team will also enable the service to extend their operating hours from 8am-10pm, moving to a 24-hour service from November, providing our patients with a more responsive high-quality nursing and therapy care service.
The implementation of this new service will play a crucial role during our winter months. The pressures across the NHS are set to increase as we move into the colder weather and face the seasonal increase of covid and flu. The 24/7 service will help to support patients in their own home or residence, reduce wait times across Emergency Departments and protect our hospital beds for our sickest most vulnerable patients.
Tanya Hibbert, Director of Operations Pennine at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust said: “We look forward to supporting our partners at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust with the new Intensive Home Support Service for patients across Blackburn with Darwen, especially going into Winter.”