3 minute read
Home advantage
Pat Verrycke recalls the day Mersey Care’s Urgent Community Response nurse Wayne Fleming knocked at the door of their Huyton home.
Her husband Fred, once a decorator to the Royal Family, had previously been taken to hospital after a 999 call. Now his wife was concerned that he was even more unwell and getting worse.
She clearly remembers the dilemma of what to do.
“I’d seen how busy the hospitals are but I knew we needed help.”
Pat called emergency services who promptly contacted her local Urgent Community Response Service, a team of community health professionals who assess and, where possible, treat people at home. If the person does need to go into hospital, they could avoid the A&E route.
In Fred’s case the community nurse who came to their home was Wayne.
“We saw Wayne walking up the path and it was like an angel had arrived to help us. We were so relieved to see him.”
Wayne gave Fred a thorough examination, diagnosed severe kidney infection and explained that Fred’s hospital records showed he’d had E-coli. He stayed with the couple to reassure them and prescribed medication for Fred’s condition.
Fred is now on his way back to good health and enjoying his beloved hobby of wood turning. Pat says they are both full of gratitude to the UCR service.
“Wayne arrived soon after we made the call. He was so thorough, we had complete confidence in him. We felt better knowing Fred was getting the right care without having to go to hospital.”
Fred Verrycke is back to good health and his beloved hobby of wood turning thanks to Mersey Care's Urgent Community Response service.
Wayne says the service lets nurses and other staff find out more about their patient.
“Being in someone’s home lets us see the whole picture. We have time to identify problems and hopefully resolve them in a way that avoids someone needing to go to A&E.” hospital.”
Urgent Community Response
Urgent Community Response (UCR) is a rapid response assessment service for adults over 18 in need of urgent care. It aims to treat people in their own home within two hours of their call to avoid sending them to A&E if possible. Every neighbourhood has an urgent community response service.
How to access it?
The service is available 365 days a year, 8am to 8pm. You can be referred by your GP or any health or social care professional.
It’s your service – use it.
Huyton GP Paul Conway (below) uses the service regularly to help his patients avoid going to A&E. “It’s fantastic to be able to treat people in the comfort of their own home and to take pressure away from emergency services and hospitals. We all work together to keep people independent, comfortable and safe.”
He urges fellow GPs and the public to follow his lead. “It doesn’t matter where you live, every area has an urgent community response service and we should use it.”
