British Red Cross Northamptonshire
Since March 2021, the British Red Cross Northamptonshire teams have been making a positive contribution at Kettering General Hospital.
Our team is dedicated to providing the best possible care to patients through a range of services, aimed at enhancing their overall experience. The British Red Cross believe that community-based support is essential in reducing the risk of hospital readmissions. This partnership allows us to provide patients with access to support workers, who can provide assistance in the patient's home after discharge.
Our goal is to ensure that patients feel supported every step of the way. We strive to make a positive difference in their lives, by providing them with the resources they need to make a smooth transition back to their daily routines.
Community Support at Home
Our Support workers can assist with:
- Supporting patients with their practical and emotional needs
- Assisting patients to ensure they have food in their house and know how to get hold of any shopping if they are struggling to get out and about.
- Reviewing if patients need any safety help: including Lifeline (pendant alarms), smoke alarms and key safes
- Advice and signposting to household cleaning services
- Support patients to collect prescriptions and arrang e vis its to their GP
- Signposting to financial advice support services
- Facilitating smoother discharge by allowing access to community equipment s ervices
- Providing ongoing advice and support to patients following discharge including Signposting.
Patient Transport
The British Red Cross are contracted by the hospital to transport patients from wards and the discharge lounge by transporting them to their place of residence, this is usually patients in wheelchairs. The service has access to specialist vehicles and typically transports ten to fifteen patients per day. All patients in Kettering General Hospital are assessed for the most suitable means of discharge transportation, based upon the individual patient's needs. For example; if a patient requires a discharge by stretcher, this would be dealt with by another service.
Our Team
The service consists of 2 Service Co-ordinator’s and 11 Support Workers. All of our staff are fully trained to carry out their roles and in line with British Red Cross training standards.
The service is currently recruiting volunteers to further enhance our service delivery.
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