Elderly mum avoids hospital as Call for Care delivers urgent support
Wendy Neville from Mansfield Woodhouse has told how the Trust’s Call for Care service has been invaluable to her mum, Brenda Northing, providing the right care and treatment and avoiding further hospital admissions.
Call for Care is a clinical navigation system for health and social care professionals. It supports them to find the most appropriate service for patients with complex care needs who require additional support but not necessarily in hospital. This care can be organised within two hours.
Wendy’s story:
Wendy’s mum, Brenda, is 84 and lives alone at her home in Mansfield. She suffers from dementia and has comorbidities including heart failure, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Wendy helps to look after her mum and visits her regularly.
“Mum’s health has been deteriorating since April last year. Since her onset of dementia, she gets increasingly frustrated at not being able to do day-to-day activities such as cleaning, cooking, washing and gardening. She can get quite down and depressed, which stops her eating.
“Mums decline in health has been hard on the family too. I was at Mums all the time and being called at various times of the day because of another fall or she wouldn’t eat.
“She has recently suffered multiple falls, one which led to her fracturing her hip, and she spent a lot of time being in and out of hospital. She also wasn’t coping well at home.”
Elaine Watts, Palliative Nurse for Primary Integrated Community Services Limited (PICS) works closely with the Trust’s Integrated Care Team in Mansfield and Ashfield and cares for Brenda, helping her with her conditions and extra medications.
Elaine said: “I could see Brenda wasn’t coping well at home. Despite all interventions offered she was at risk of further falls. I spoke with both Wendy and Brenda and listened to their concerns before getting in touch with Call for Care to find out what additional support was available.”
Within 15 minutes of the referral to Call for Care, an Assistant Care Practitioner arrived at Brenda’s home to assess her and agreed that she was not safe to be at home by herself. The Call for Care team contacted Social Services and arranged for emergency care at Bluebell Lodge, a care home in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Brenda moved to the care home the same day.
“From the minute they walked through the door they made me feel at ease and took charge of the situation with my mum” said Wendy. “The team took all my concerns on board and really listened to me, as at that point I felt I had no one to turn to. I was so relieved when they said that Mum shouldn’t be at home by herself. It has avoided another hospital admission and has led to Mum receiving the care she needs. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done.
Call for Care has to date supported almost 1000 patients and their families, particularly those frail and elderly who have no existing community support and have reached crisis point. It forms part of the Better Together programme developed to join up health and social care services across Mid-Nottinghamshire.
Call for Care is open for calls seven days a week, 8am – 8pm, from health and social care professionals across Mid Nottinghamshire who need an alternative to admission or conveyance to hospital for their patients. The service is for those over the age of 18 and registered with a GP in Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood.
For more information about the Better Together Programme visit www.bettertogethermidnotts.org.uk
