When Frances Scott needed to go from her care home into the Royal Berkshire Hospital for treatment, a little red bag was packed for her to take with important information about her health and care, alongside her personal belongings.
Woodbury House Care Home in Farley Hill, where she lives, is signed up to the new Red Bag Pathway scheme, designed to support transfer of patients between care homes and hospitals.
The Red Bag contains information, completed by the care home team, about the resident’s health, any existing medical conditions they have, and any medication they are taking, as well as highlighting the current health concern that is the reason they are being taken to hospital.
This is readily available for ambulance crew who care for the patient during transfer and to hospital staff to help them to determine the treatment the patient needs faster and more effectively.
The bag also has room for personal belongings, such as glasses, hearing aid, clothes and it stays with the patient while they are in hospital.
When Frances was ready to return home to Woodbury House, a copy of her discharge summary, detailing the treatment that she had received in hospital, was placed in the Red Bag so that the care home team could put it into her care file.
The Red Bag Pathway scheme is being introduced wherever the local NHS Trust supports it and is now available to care homes locally. Woodbury House is run by national care provider brighterkind and is among the earliest of its 70 homes to sign up to the scheme.
Samantha Bell, Home Manager at Woodbury House, said: “Having the vital information about a resident’s care and any medication they are being given readily available in the bag means more efficient transfer between care home and hospital, but most importantly it ensures clinical staff have the information they need to make informed decisions about the person’s treatment.”
The scheme enables a significant reduction in ambulance transfer times and for A&E assessment times and reduces avoidable hospital admissions. It also identifies if a patient is a care home resident and this means that it may be possible for them to be discharged sooner, because the care home team understands the person’s care needs are able to support them.
