Contact the service

  • Write to: Central and West Team, Acute Care at Home, Truro Health Park, Infirmary Hill, Truro, TR1 2JA
  • Call 01872 246 984
  • Email the Central and West Team

Availability

Open 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

Acute Care at Home

The Acute Care at Home Service provides advanced nursing care and support to patients in their own homes. The aim is to prevent an admission or support an early discharge from hospital.

The team is made up of highly qualified, experienced nurses who can provide advanced assessment skills and treatment to patients in their own homes. This will avoid a patient being admitted to an acute setting.

Inclusion criteria

The patient:

  • must be over the age of 18
  • has access to a telephone at home
  • must agree to treatment being given at home

Types of conditions that can be managed by the team include:

  • chest infections, bronchiectasis or COPD
  • cellulitis or osteomyelitis
  • heart failure or endocarditis
  • pneumonia or tonsillitis
  • urinary tract infection or pyelonephritis
  • post-operative infections
  • discitis
  • liver abscess
  • meningitis
  • hyperemesis
  • nebuliser therapy (short term use).
  • blood transfusions and platelets (for housebound patients only)

Intensive nursing support

The team is skilled in providing intensive nursing support at home.

Skills include:

  • IV therapy including re-hydration, antibiotics, anti-emetics and diuretics
  • respiratory and cardiovascular assessment and examination
  • cannulation
  • phlebotomy

Information for referrers

The Acute Care at Home Team is available from 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

A co-ordinator is in the office Monday to Friday and there is an answerphone for non-urgent messages. We can also be contacted via the Bodmin switchboard, call 01208 251 300.

We hold weekly ward round meetings where we discuss each of our patient’s with a microbiologist, consultant and advanced specialist clinical pharmacist.

Referrals

Any health professional can make a referral to the team however, the patient’s GP needs to have assessed community patients within 24-hours of referral. The GP must be prepared to maintain medical responsibility while the patient is treated by the team; or, in the case of out of hours until the patient’s own GP is available.

Resources