What is the urgent community response (UCR) and Hospital at Home Therapy Team?
At our first visit we assess you, and your current roles (carer for spouse, husband, mother, etc.), your home environment and discuss with you any changes in your mobility or day to day activities which are causing you difficulties.
We may take blood tests, and/or complete general medical observations.
Using this holistic assessment, we will then discuss any aids, exercises or adaptations recommended, and work in partnership with you to agree your therapy input.
- We will assess for, and order/issue any mobility equipment or environmental aids to support your safety and to enable you to remain at home.
- Based on the outcome of your assessment, we will decide whether you require further visits from our therapy team to practice mobility, exercises or review equipment provisions.
- With your permission, we will liaise with other health and social care teams to support any changes in ability which have caused you to require care support.
- If our assessment raises new concerns about your medical health which could lead to hospital admission, we will, with your permission, liaise with your GP or our Hospital at Home team of nurses, advanced clinical practitioners, pharmacists, GP’s and geriatricians to enable you to receive medical care within your own home.
- We will, with your permission, refer onto rehabilitation therapists based in the community, or the specialists falls team if we think these are appropriate.
Who is on the team?
- Physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
- Therapy assistant practitioners.
How long do I spend as a patient with the therapy team?
The UCR and Hospital at Home Therapy service provides a short-term input therapy service, seven days a week.
Patients within our service can contact us between 8am until 6pm, 7 days per week on telephone 07974 608855
This contact number is shared with our Hospital at Home nursing staff, so it is useful to make it clear on calling that you wish to speak with a member of therapies.
You will either be discharged with no further needs following our input, or with your permission, referred onto the Community Therapies Team (CTT) for a longer period of therapeutic involvement if additional / longer term rehabilitation requirements have been identified.
Shared decision making
We want you to feel in control of your own therapy plan, and to be included in any decisions about your goals wherever possible:
- In situations where there is a clear decision to be made (for example, something within your home is posing risk of injury/falls), we will simply advise you what to do. It is your choice whether to follow this advice or not.
- In situations where there is more than one possible outcome, we will discuss with you what these options might be and inform you of the pros and cons to each option. We will then decide, together, what you want to do.
We find that our patients and their families feel calmer and more in control with this approach.
What are the advantages to receiving therapy at home?
- Some patients recover more quickly from temporary changes in mobility caused by ill health when treated in their own homes. This can be because of the familiarity of their own environment, ability to move around more easily and access to friends, neighbours and family for support, encouragement and prompting.
- In hospital it is very common to experience a decline in mobility, deconditioning (reduced muscle tone caused by prolonged bed rest), low mood due to social isolation, and/or fatigue due to changed sleep routines / disturbed sleep.
- You may feel more empowered in voicing your needs and wishes regarding your therapy interventions, plan and goals in your own environment than you would do in hospital.
- It is often easier to access regular, familiar food and drink while at home. This is because friends, family and carers know what you might like, and it can be accessed any time.
- For some people, they are unsure of whether they are allowed to mobilise whilst they are in hospital, or may feel they need to ask permission. This causes increased time spent inactive and a reduced sense of independence.
What cannot be provided at home?
- We cannot provide continued rehabilitation but can refer you on to a Community Therapy Team to continue on with your rehabilitation goals.
- We cannot provide assessments for large adaptations such as walk-in showers, ceiling track hoists or through floor lifts. For this, a referral to social services is required. You can self-refer to this service by contacting 01609 780780, or by using the referral portal online.
What if I would like a chaperone?
If you feel you would like a chaperone, please discuss with your visiting staff member prior to the visit/prior to any interventions being completed.
To accommodate this your visit may need to be rescheduled.
A carer, friend or relative is welcome to support you during interventions.
If you or your family have any concerns or require help it is important that you contact the team as soon as possible.
What to do if you need to contact the therapy team?
If you require advice, you can telephone us on 07974 608855. We are available 7 days a week, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency or have urgent health needs then please call 111 or 999.
If your query is relating to delivery of equipment or to arrange collection of items of equipment, please contact Medequip directly on 01423 224260.
Contact numbers
If you need further advice, or have any problems, please contact the appropriate number below:
Friarage Hospital
Hospital at Home Therapies
Telephone: 07974 608855
Monday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm
Email: [email protected]
If you have any worries or concerns, you should contact your GP during normal surgery hours. Outside surgery hours, you should contact your GP’s surgery for the Out of Hours Service number.
Patient Experience Team
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust would like your feedback. If you would like to share your experience about your care and treatment or on behalf of a patient, please contact The Patient Experience Team who will help you to do this.
This service is based at James Cook University Hospital but also the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, our community hospitals and community health services.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Telephone: 01642 854807 / Freephone: 0800 0282451
Email: [email protected]
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm
Out of hours if you wish to speak to a senior member of trust staff, please contact the hospital switchboard (numbers below).
The James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough
TS4 3BW
Telephone: 01642 850850
The Friarage Hospital
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL6 1JG
Telephone: 01609 779911
This leaflet can be made available in other formats including large print, CD and braille and in languages other than English, upon request.
Leaflet ID: PI094 version 1
Review due: 15 June 2029