Rapid response team
What is the rapid response team?
At Northumberland Care Trust we appreciate that it can be distressing to be admitted to hospital. We also know that sometimes people are admitted to hospital because they require urgent care that can not always be provided in the community. You may need urgent care because your carer is not available to help you like normal and you need help with your medication or preparing your meals. Alternatively you may need urgent care because you get an infection or injury that makes you unwell and means that you need more care than usual. The rapid response team can provide this care, at short notice, to allow you to stay in your own home and prevent the need for you to go into hospital.
Who is eligible?
The rapid response team can help you if:
- you have an illness where the symptoms or condition has got worse than it normally is. If you would have to be admitted to hospital without extra support then the rapid response team can help
- your carer is temporarily unavailable and you would need to be admitted to hospital without extra support
- you have had a fall or injury that prevents you from being as independent as you usually are
Receiving care from the rapid response team
If your GP thinks that you may benefit from extra support in order to prevent the need for you to go to hospital then they will contact one of their district nurses. The district nurse will then visit you and decide what type of care you are going to need. They will then make contact with the rapid response team and let us know what we need to do.
The service is designed to be fast, hence the name rapid response team. The district nurse will visit you within one hour of the GP asking them to and someone from the rapid response team will be with you within two hours of the district nurse's visit.
Having the rapid response team caring for you will not affect any of the other services you receive and you can still receive any emergency hospital care you need.
How do I access the service?
Your GP and your district nurse will make contact with the rapid response team on your behalf. Please contact your GP in the first instance.
Contact details
If you would like any extra information about the rapid response team please contact us using the details below:
Service co-ordinator
Rapid response team
Community support office
Nursery Park Medical Group
Nursery Park Road
Ashington
NE63 0HP
Tel: 01670 394712 or 01670 394714
Fax: 01670 394713
Useful leaflets
If you need to request a copy in large print, or in another format or language please call 01670 394522.
