Working together to improve the outcomes of healthcare for care home residents.
On 10 April 2018, Surrey Downs CCG and stakeholders launched phase 1 of the Red Bag Scheme with 32 nursing and residential homes, located in the Epsom, East Elmbridge and Dorking areas.
The aim is for any care homes resident who attends hospital from one of these homes to have a red bag with them should they require admission. The red bag will include their personal belongings and relevant paperwork relating to that individual. The red bag ensures that nothing is lost or misplaced on the resident’s journey and clearly identifies the patient as being from a care home whilst in hospital.
The Red Bag Scheme paperwork will give professionals all the necessary information on the care requirements for that individual as well as their interests, likes and dislikes. The paperwork will also be updated when the individual leaves hospital, so the care homes can quickly understand if the resident needs to be supported differently once they are back in the community.
Surrey Downs want to improve the way care homes and the hospital work together to ensure individuals always receive the highest quality service.
By working in this way we know that such a scheme improves outcomes for our care home residents by reducing the time they spend in hospital and preventing unnecessary readmissions.
The care homes included in the phase 1 of the Red Bag Scheme are: Appleby House, Arbrook House, Beauchamp Court, Bellsgrove, Bramley House, Broome Park, Cossins House, Deepdene Care Centre, Downsvale, Emberbrook, Garth House, Greenacres, Holmwood, Home of Compassion, Leighton House, Linwood, Milner House, Moore Place, Pickering House, Priory Court, Ridgemount, Rose Hill, Royal Cambridge, Springfield House, Stanecroft, Sunrise of Esher, Thameside, The Beeches, The Red House, The Summers, Westcott House, Wingham Court.
The Red Bag Scheme has been successfully rolled out in many areas across the UK following the Sutton Vanguard pilot. The success of this shows the importance of improved communication between care home providers and the hospital. If you would like to know more about the Red Bag Scheme, please get in touch with Jenny Halliday, Urgent Care & Integration Project Support Manager, Surrey Downs CCG, jennifer.halliday1@nhs.net. If you have any specific queries regarding care homes please email csh.qualitycarehometeam@nhs.net.