People living in Warwickshire care homes are now benefiting from a new initiative to help them get rapid and effective treatment, should they need to go into hospital.Containing everything from vit...
People living in Warwickshire care homes are now benefiting from a new initiative to help them get rapid and effective treatment, should they need to go into hospital.
Containing everything from vital personal information and pyjamas to medical notes and slippers, the innovative 'Red Bag' scheme has been launched by Warwickshire County Council and partners to help make trips to hospital faster for Warwickshire care home residents who are transferred to A&E departments – including at NHS SWFT’s Warwick Hospital (pictured) - by West Midlands Ambulance Service.
The Red Bags – which stay with people throughout their hospital stay, including if they are admitted to a ward - contain standardised information about the individual’s overall health, any current medical conditions they have and vital personal details, as well as highlighting their present health worry.
This means that ambulance and hospital staff can decide the treatment a care home resident needs quickly and effectively.
Personal objects such as dentures, glasses, hearing aid and toiletries are also contained in the Red Bag, as well as a change of clothes and pair of slippers so the individual can function as well as possible in hospital, get out of bed and be prepared to go back to their care home as quickly as they are able.
The Red Bag is already saving time in the handover of residents from care home to ambulance and from ambulance to A&E. It is also assisting hospital ward staff to work towards a quicker discharge, as they are continuously reminded that the patient is a care home resident. The bag also helps reduce the risk of lost belongings by keeping everything together in one place throughout the hospital stay.
The Warwickshire version of the Red Bag builds on good practice seen elsewhere in the country where Red Bags have already been used, and has been developed by Warwickshire County Council alongside partners including Warwickshire’s NHS Hospital Trusts, CCGs, West Midlands Ambulance Service, and care home providers. Its development has been supported by the Better Care Fund in Warwickshire.
Cllr Les Caborn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “The thinking behind the Red Bag is very simple, however it has the potential to be so important for care home residents who require a hospital stay and could be assessed by numerous staff over a number of days.
“Having all of the pertinent details about a patient in one stand-out place will enable staff to take the best choices for that patient, and likewise, their care home will be able to carry on doing so when the patient has come back. It will help provide quicker discharges, making sure patients are getting home promptly.”
Initially, 32 older people care homes across Warwickshire have been piloting the Red Bags, with the aim to roll out the scheme to more across the county very soon.
They include all of Runwood Homes’ care homes in Warwickshire and Galanos House in Southam.
Speaking about their experience of using the Red Bag, Jo-Anne Wilson, Galanos House Home Manager, said: “The resident didn’t need to stay in for long but the Red Bag followed them, came back with them and had all the paperwork completed.
“The paramedics knew about the scheme and were as keen as we were to put the Red Bag into action.
“The carer, who accompanied the resident to hospital, was reassured that all the information that might be needed was to hand and current.”