COVENTRY URGENT COMMUNITY RESPONSE SERVICE EXPANDED

The Coventry Urgent Community Response (UCR) Service is now available to provide urgent support seven-days a week, between the hours of 08:00-20:00 and can now be accessed via the NHS 111 Service for the first time.

The service helps to reduce avoidable hospital admissions, by providing a two-hour crisis response for people concerned their health or mobility has suddenly declined. A holistic assessment is completed by the expert team within the home or where a patient usually resides. The service also provides a two-day “reablement” response for patient’s that require support to regain their skills, confidence, and independence to remain safely in their home or usual place of residence, following an illness or hospital discharge.

There are many benefits of a two-hour response, including reduced demand on ambulance and other NHS services, while ensuring patients don’t suffer secondary conditions often associated with waiting for care when unwell or spending extended periods on the floor following a fall.

The service has been accepting referrals from West Midlands Ambulance Service via diverted 999 calls, GPs, and care homes, and has been helping the local emergency department to reduce waiting times by accepting referrals directly from A&E since October 2021. This allows patients who meet the criteria for the service to return home for treatment. As well as providing a service for patients who do not need to attend A&E and can be successfully treated in the community, the extended service will also cut down risk of future falls and help to reduce the risk of re-admission.