Press release
New service brings specialist care closer to home
A new service has been launched to offer fast treatment closer to home.
The new Community Intravenous (IV) Therapy Service will be launched on the 3rd September and is available for patients from Bury and the Rochdale borough who have a sudden or ongoing condition that requires medicines or fluids administered intravenously, without delay.
IV Therapy is a term that describes giving patient’s medicines or fluids through a vein. The types of patients who benefit from IV therapy treatment include those needing antibiotics to treat a serious chest infection for example; also those patients who need medicines to treat a leg ulcer, cellulitis or surgical wound infections.
In the past, patients would usually have had to make a trip to hospital to receive this specialist treatment. This new community based service offers this same high quality care, delivered by specially trained nurses in either one of two convenient community settings, or for some patients, the treatment can be delivered by the specialist nurses at the patient’s own home.
It is expected that over 800 patients living in Bury and the Rochdale borough will benefit from the service every year. The service is available 24 hours a day for patients who need it, and there is a 24 hour helpline to offer patients advice and reassurance when they need it.
Barbara Barlow, local patient representative said: “This will be a really welcome service for many patients who, instead of needing to be admitted to hospital, will be able to be treated in more familiar surroundings or within their own homes.”
Dr. Kiran Patel, Chairman and Clinical Lead for the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group added: “This new service is about providing the best possible care by specialised nurses in the most convenient place for patients. One of the new Bury Clinical Commissioning Group’s main objectives is to bring services closer to home, and this is just one example of how we are making improvements to the way that services are delivered for the benefit of our patients. This is a really welcome service for many patients, who can now be cared for closer to or within the comfort of their own homes, rather than needing a trip to hospital.”
Ends
Date: 23rd August 2012
Notes to Editor: The new Community IV Therapy Service is commissioned jointly by NHS Bury and NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. The service is provided by Mastercall Healthcare, a social enterprise in partnership with Healthcare at Home, the UK’s largest private provider of out of hospital treatment who have been awarded a 3 year contract to provide a Community Based intravenous (IV) service across Bury and the Rochdale borough.