Homecare

We are committed to development and expansion as we increase our therapy areas and take on more patients.

What is Clinical Homecare?

Clinical homecare is the provision of medication to patients at home which includes prescribing, delivery and sometimes nurse administration.

Patients remain under the close care of the Trust, and the focus is on improving clinical outcomes, enhancing patient experience with less disruption, inconvenience and stress.

For the Trust and NHS, along with the clinical benefits, reduced manual handling, dispensing, waiting time and storage space, there are also financial savings. In 2017-2018 the Clinical Homecare department generated gross savings of over £7.7 million, proving Clinical Homecare has huge benefits to the local health economy.

Where will I find Clinical Homecare?

The Clinical Homecare Department is based within the Inpatient Pharmacy at the hospital.

Meet the team

• Homecare Manager – Tracey McLaren – Tel 0161 701 8584
• Homecare Co-ordinator – Maxine Abberley – Tel 0161 701 4345
• Homecare Senior Technician – Claire Zammit – Tel 0161 701 4345
• Homecare Invoice Clerk – Sureen Rayavarapu – Tel 0161 701 4345
• Homecare Technician – Faiza Khan – Tel 0161 701 4347
• Homecare Technician – Gemma Greenwood – Tel 0161 701 4347
• Homecare Assistant –  Tel 0161 701 5580

Trust Team e-mail: Homecare.team-OxfordRoad@mft.nhs.uk

Secure Team e-mail: mft.homecareteam@nhs.net

FAX:  0161 701 0199

Who do we work with?

The Clinical Homecare department has partnerships with a number of independent Home Delivery companies. We have established strong working relationships, standardised procedures, designing a service which maintains NHS care standards throughout.

In some cases nursing staff employed by our partnership companies are trained by our NHS Hospital clinical teams, guaranteeing consistency in care values and procedures.

Our dedication, experience and proven partnerships give us access to a wide range of treatment areas, and enable us to react quickly to smoothly transfer patient care from Hospital to Home.

We work closely with our clinical teams at the hospital, service providers and our patients.  Communication is key. We aim to empower our patients, and listen closely to all their feedback.

We strive to develop our skills and the service in innovative ways, and maintain a fresh approach as the NHS moves into the future.

Who is eligible?

Patients who are on stable treatment regimens, where contracts are in place with a service provider, may be offered the Homecare service. As compliance and communication is key to the success of the service, each patient must agree to be available and contactable, to be considered suitable.

We may require a patient or carer to sign an agreement and authorisation form before transferring to the home service. Each therapy area is different and we tailor the service to suit the clinical requirement and patient needs.

How does it work?

Once forms and prescriptions are generated by the Hospital Clinical areas (consultant, Specialist Nurse), the Clinical Homecare Department process these and liaise directly with the chosen service provider.

In a timely manner the company who will deliver the service and medication contact the patient, arrange deliveries, any specialist care, and waste collection etc.  The recipient or carer will be required to sign a ‘proof of delivery’ for their regular scheduled home medication deliveries.

Communication

For both patients and service providers, the Hospital Clinical Homecare Department is the core contact point should they have any problems, queries or feedback.

If a patient needs to change a delivery date or has a change of circumstance, they can contact the delivery company direct.

Any change in personal contact details, telephone number, address etc, must be communicated to the Hospital Clinical Homecare Team as soon as possible.

Hospital Appointments & Patient Review

Patients are still required to attend the hospital for monitoring purposes as they remain under the care of the consultants at the hospital. However the number of visits may be reduced as they will receive their medication and treatment at home.

Our clinicians are very much involved with the day-to-day care of their homecare patients and may need to be available for immediate advice in situations such as homecare nurses requiring confirmation of satisfactory blood results before administering an i.v. medication.

Confidentiality

The homecare service complies strictly to Patient confidentiality law. Data is transferred between ourselves and our providers safely and securely.

Deliveries are always packaged plainly and arrive in unidentified vans, or via the postal service etc.  All delivery drivers and homecare company staff are CRB checked and have approved training and regular monitoring schemes in place.

Systems

Our strategy is focussed on accuracy and clarity. We have worked closely with our internal IT team and devised proven and established automated systems. This enables us to produce data and statistics regularly which are clear and ensure our commissioners are furnished with accurate information in a timely manner.

We have strict standard operating and governance procedures, which provide complete audit trails from prescription to each patient’s delivery (including evidence and invoice).

Development

We regularly meet with our partnership companies conducting service reviews, monitoring KPI data and also proactively responding to patient feedback to develop a highly specialised service which aims to exceed expectations with a focus on results, both clinical and financial.

Homecare really is a buzzword for NHS, commissioners, and patients alike.