Critical Care Outreach
Critical Care Outreach is an extended service available in the Critical Care unit to the whole hospital – to create 'Critical Care Without Walls' – and to support all levels of ward staff managing patients at risk.
The specific goals of Outreach are:
- To facilitate timely admission and discharge from the Critical Care unit
- To prevent re-admissions
- To educate ward staff about management of critically ill patients and those at risk of deterioration
- To promote continuity of care and improve services for patients who have been critically ill
This service is mostly for ward patients, allowing earlier involvement and support from staff who have a minimum of five years Critical Care experience. It is a referral service that works alongside ward staff and the patient’s own team.
Four initiatives have been introduced within the Wirral University Teaching Hospital to improve the care of the critically ill ward patient.
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The introduction of a six-day Critical Care Outreach service
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The development of a Modified early Warning Score (MEWS) which is used Trust wide
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Critical Care education for ward staff
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The ALERT course – which formally teaches Critical Care skills to a multi –disciplinary group of health cares professionals.
Function of the Outreach Team
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The Outreach Service provides clinical support and critical care skills for all ward areas within Wirral University Teaching Hospital
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To provide early identification and support to patients requiring intensive care / high dependency care
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Increase in support for patients discharged from critical care areas
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Discussion with parent teams on management of patients for whom intensive care is inappropriate.
Referral
The Outreach Team will take referrals from anybody caring for patients who are acutely ill; this could for example be a Doctor, Nurse, Physiotherapist, Dietician or Student Nurse. The informal route is via a telephone call, bleep or visit on the ward; this kind of referral may be for advice, guidance or support. The more formal route for a full consultation is often activated by a patient causing concern or by a MEWS of four or more.
The Hospital Co-ordinators are very much involved in Outreach services during night-time hours, they take handover from the outreach Team and are aware of all the patients in the hospital that are currently causing concern. Any patients who have been acutely ill overnight are then referred to the Outreach team in the morning handover.
Equipment
The Outreach Team can provide specialist equipment on loan to the ward areas and currently has:
- Two monitors that measure heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels and respiratory rates continuously
- Three high flow nasal oxygen machines that provide humidified oxygen up to 87%.
The Outreach staff offers education and support to staff in the ward areas using this equipment.
Current Hours of Service
07:30am – 21:15pm – Monday to Friday. 07:30am – 15:30pm Saturday
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Arrowe Park Hospital, Arrowe Park Road, Upton, Wirral, Merseyside CH49 5PE
Switchboard: (0151) 678 5111