THE HOSPITAL to Home service continues to support residents across Warwickshire.
The Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service-operated service made more than 1,200 collections in the past year, helping patients return home safely following a stay in hospital.
The Hospital to Home service, which launched in 2018, aims to support elderly and vulnerable patients following treatment at hospital.
Hospital staff contact the service when they identify a patient is ready to leave hospital but do not have someone who can pick them up and need support with the transport to get home.
The service collect the patient and drive them home, support them into the home and check on the safety and wellbeing of each person.
As part of the service, when the Hospital to Home team support a patient to return home, they will also carry out a Safe and Well check. It involves looking for potential hazards in the home that can cause slips, trips and falls, carrying out a check for possible fire hazards, inspecting electrical sockets to ensure they are safe to use, checking smoke alarms are working or installing new alarms where there are none.
The team will also refer patients to support services if they believe that the patient could use the support to help them remain independent in their home.
WCC community safety spokesman Coun Robert Gisbourne, said: “The Hospital to Home service is a great example of the work our crews carry out all year round to keep the public safe.
“It’s great to see the impact the Hospital to Home service has on our more vulnerable residents, not just helping them to return home but also allowing us to ensure they get the support they need in the home so they can continue to lead independent lives, all while helping to reduce the risk of a fire in their home.”
Hospital to Home collects from Warwick Hospital, George Eliot Hospital, University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire, Rugby St Cross and Leamington Rehabilitation Unit.
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue for more information.
