Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has shared an update on the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre, where NHS, social care, voluntary, fire and rescue services work collaboratively to keep frail and elderly people in the surrounding area fit, out of hospital and living independently in their home or care setting.
The centre provides patients from Hull and East Yorkshire with a bespoke care plan following a referral by their GP with access to same-day appointments from a range of health and social care professionals.
Dan Harman, Consultant Community Geriatrician and Strategic Clinical Lead for Frailty, explained how health services work together through the centre.
“GP practices across the whole of the city identify patients at risk of severe frailty and refer patients here for a comprehensive geriatric assessment,” he said. “That assessment will include multiple members of a specialist multidisciplinary team across health and social care. So a patient might see a geriatrician or a GP with an extended role in frailty or an advanced nurse practitioner; they would see our medicines management team, a pharmacist, a pharmacy technician; and our social care team. Each day we have a multidisciplinary team meeting where we agree on the care plan and that is shared with the patient, the hospital and the GP. Something we are really keen on is making sure that the patient’s voice is heard.
“Another thing that is important is equity and parity of service. We have six and a half thousand care home residents across Hull and East Riding and it’s really important that such residents are offered the same level of specialist care as patients who reside in their own home. If you reside in your own home, you’re invited to attend the Jean Bishop Centre. If you reside in a care home, we take the same model of care to patients.”
There are also diagnostics facilities which allows healthcare staff to carry out x-rays and blood tests with the potential to offer CT scans in the future.
The centre is also home to the East Hull crew of Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, with personnel specially trained in falls triage and assessment on hand to offer assistance when required.
Measured outcomes have shown that between April 2019 and September 2022, the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre contributed to a 13.6 percent reduction in emergency hospital attendances for patients aged over 80. During this period, there was also a 17.6 percent reduction in emergency department attendances for patients in care homes.
More information on the centre can be found here.