ACCIDENT and Emergency is not always the best place to be taken if you call 999 and, with a new way of working, more patients are now getting the care they need in their own home.

London Ambulance Service is working with NHS rapid response teams across North West London, including Ealing Harrow and Hillingdon, and up to 100 additional people are being cared for at home a month.

How does it work?

Ambulance crews responding to a 999 call now have all the information they need to assess if a rapid response service could provide better, more suitable care for the patient, rather than taking them to A&E.

If the patient is clinically suitable to be referred to rapid response, the ambulance crew will call one of the eight response teams in NW London, who will visit the patient in their home within two hours of being contacted.

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Response teams include nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and health care assistants, who have access to medical and social care input.

They can help patients with conditions including:

 Respiratory infection or urinary tract infection

 Falls and dizziness

 Cellulitis

 Exacerbation of a long-term condition, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, which can cause breathlessness

 Catheter problems

 Diarrhoea/constipation/vomiting/dehydration

Depending on patients’ needs, response teams will return over the course of a week and the patient’s GP will be involved in the care programme.