Urgent Community Response

The Birmingham and Solihull urgent community response (UCR) team can provide a rapid response service to people in their own surroundings within two hours.

 

The referral service offers an alternative to calling an ambulance and helps to avoid unnecessary hospital admission or readmission. All referrals are triaged and assessed by the UCR team. if clinically necessary, patients will be seen in their own homes within two hours, but they may also be seen later that day or the next day, if required.

 

It is available to Birmingham and Solihull residents seven days a week from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm.

 

The UCR team includes advanced clinical practitioners, clinical practitioners, support workers, therapists and adult social care.

 

UCR services have a ‘no wrong door’ approach and work flexibly based on need, not diagnosis/condition. The types of patients it sees include those with complex care needs or whose health has suddenly deteriorated through a fall, infection, frailty or exacerbation of an illness.

 

Referral

Patient criteria

This service is available to anybody 17 years and over who lives within Birmingham or Solihull Local Authority and/or is registered with a Birmingham or Solihull GP. It is inclusive and based on clinical and/or social need.

 

Reasons for a UCR referral can include:

• falls – no apparent serious injury or loss of consciousness
• mobility – cannot walk or off legs/less mobile/less co-ordination
• pain – increased or new onset or mild/moderate pain
• breathing – worsening shortness of breath.
• behaviour - more sleepy/lethargic
• skin – cold hands/feet
• observations - significantly different from normal including blood sugar
• fever – shivery, fever or feels hot/cold or clammy
• appetite – suddenly off food, reduced appetite, reduced food intake, vomiting
• elimination – new offensive smelly urine/can’t pass urine/reduced catheter output, diarrhoea.

 

Who can refer?

Any healthcare professional can refer a patient into the service including:

• GPs
• care homes
• 111 
• West Midlands Ambulance Service 
• mental health services 
• community-based health and social care services 
• same-day emergency care (SDEC) .