Urgent clinical advice
What is the urgent community response (UCR) and the frailty virtual ward?
The urgent community response (UCR) service went live in December 2021. The service will respond to an urgent, clinical need, where an intervention is required within two hours in order to avoid an acute hospital admission.
The response will be delivered at the patient’s own home or usual place of residence (e.g. care home). The service will consist of a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team including advanced clinical practitioners (ACP), nurses, therapists, admin and geriatricians.
If ongoing medical treatment is required patients will be admitted to the frailty virtual ward.
The frailty virtual ward offers a ‘hospital at home service’ for persons aged 18+ with a high acuity and frailty, that require intravenous antibiotics, diuretics and intravenous fluids for their condition to prevent hospital admission.
Referrals are open to:
- Inpatient wards
- Emergency department
- GP and primary care
- 999
- 111
- Community nurses
- Intermediate care
- Social care practitioners
- Care homes
- Over 18s
- People living in their own home or residential/care settings
- Frimley ICS registered patients
- People likely to be admitted if not assessed within two hours
- Where an urgent response is required to prevent hospital admission
- Falls
- Decompensation frailty
- Reduced mobility / function
- EOL support
- Urgent equipment provision
- Acute confusion
- Urgent catheter care
- Urgent diabetes support
- Unpaid carer breakdown