Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) e-Portal
Last Updated: Monday, 13 May 2024
EHCH Team - What We Do
The EHCH team delivers care to those in CQC-registered homes across Southport and Formby. The team delivers:
- A comprehensive and holistic assessment to individuals living permanently in homes (irrespective of age) - reviewed annually
- Learning disability annual reviews and health action planning/reviews to those in homes who are recognised by their GP practice as living with a learning disability.
- Implementation and annual review of personalised care and support plans
- Anticipatory/advanced planning - which may include treatment escalation planning (TEP), ceilings of treatment (CoT) and decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Structured medication reviews
- Identification of patients who require addition to a GP's 'Gold Standards Framework' - a system for highlighting those who may, at some stage, require additional support. Such patients are reviewed at the monthly in-practice multi-disciplinary Gold Standards Framework (GSF) meetings.
- Support and provision of education for homes
- Referral to other services, as appropriate and with consent (i.e.: falls prevention teams)
- A home ward round to support patients in homes
- Multi-disciplinary meetings to support our patients
- Review +/- reassessment after patients have had a hospital admission
- Review and assessments for any patients homes are concerned about
The EHCH team does not deliver:
- An emergency response to acutely unwell or deteriorating end-of-life (i.e.: GSF Red) patients
- Day-to-day GP care
Activity NOT related to EHCH should be directed to the patient's own surgery, as appropriate. You can access individual practice websites here.
Information for Relatives / Advocates
Further information about what the team will do for your relative is available via the link below.
Information for relatives/advocates
Who Can Refer
- Any care home member of staff
- Clinicians in a patient's own GP surgery (GPs, PAs, ACPs) - where there is a specific need (i.e.: for non-acute advanced planning)
Who Should Be Referred
- All new and permanent residents
- Any residents of concern
How to Refer:- EHCH Team - Southport (Southport patients only)
- For NEW PATIENT referrals, complete a care home referral form and return it via secure e-mail to the relevant team.
- For RESIDENT OF CONCERN referrals, e-mail the relevant team
-Ensure to provide as much relevant information as possible, including clinical observations. - We will accept referrals from the patient's own GP surgery, provided this is clinician-initiated for a specific issue. Primary care clinician referrals:- e-mail the relevant team. N.B. This is not an acute response service
Contact Us:
Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm
01704 395807
Referral / Contact email: sfhealth.carecoordinator@nhs.net
How to Refer:- EHCH Team - Formby (Formby patients only)
- For NEW PATIENT referrals, complete a care home referral form and return it via secure e-mail to the relevant team.
- For RESIDENT OF CONCERN referrals, e-mail the relevant team
-Ensure to provide as much relevant information as possible, including clinical observations. - We will accept referrals from the patient's own GP surgery, provided this is clinician-initiated for a specific issue. Primary care clinician referrals:- e-mail the relevant team. N.B. This is not an acute response service
Contact Us:
Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm
01704 835155
Referral / Contact email: formby.carehometeam@nhs.net
Useful Resources - for patients & relatives
Useful Resources - Health Screening
Medication Information & Emergency Prescription Requests - for homes
Acute/Emergency Symptoms: When To Call 999 - for homes
Acute Referrals - for homes
2-Hour Urgent Community Response (Visiting Service) (GTD)
Referral line: 07738837779
- Homes can refer any acutely unwell patients (excluding end of life) who do not need an ambulance.
- 7 days per week: 8am - 6:30pm
- The service offers: Advice, assessment and home visits.
- Remember: Have a full set of observations available for the clinician to triage (see online training section, below)
- Further information is available here.
2-Hour Urgent Community Response Team (Merseycare)
Homes must refer all patients with any of the conditions below directly to the 2-hour UCR service, not the usual GP. Referrals can be made by any health or social care staff member where there is/has been any of the following:-
- Fall - no SERIOUS injury, fracture or loss of consciousness
- Increased frailty - sudden loss of mobility or independence due to an event, such as infection
- Reduced function or mobility - sudden or gradual change in being able to cope with daily living
- End of life crisis support - where core services are not available to offer symptom control or pain relief
- Urgent equipment provision - equipment needed to support function and to keep the patient safe
- Confusion or delirium - increased or new confusion, including worsening dementia
- Urgent catheter care - blocked catheter or pain from a catheter-related issue
- Urgent diabetes care - when ar tisk of hospital admission or for a blood sugar measurement concern
Undertaking observations can be vital. These include: breathing rate, pulse, peripheral oxygen saturation, blood pressure, temperature and level of alertness. You will find instructions in the 'online training for community and care home staff' section, below.
Referral line: 0300 323 0240 and select option 1
Routine Referrals - for homes
Referral - Other - for homes
The Importance of Enhancing Health in Care Homes
The NHS long term plan is committed to providing the framework for enhanced health in care homes.
The guide for care-homes may be of particular use to you / your team and can be accessed here.
The video links below highlight how we can work together for better care - learning from the EHCH vanguards.
Online Training for Community and Care Home Staff
A series of short videos (around 3 minutes each) describe how to take measurements from residents correctly (such as blood pressure and oxygen saturation), spot the soft signs of deterioration, and prevent the spread of infection.
These videos include:
1) Introduction to sepsis and serious illness
2) Prevent the spread of infection
3) Soft signs of deterioration
4) NEWS what is it?
5) Measuring the respiratory rate
6) Measuring oxygen saturation
7) Measuring blood pressure
8) Measuring heart rate
9) Measuring level of alertness
10) How to measure temperature
11) Calculating and recording a NEWS score
12) Structured communication and escalation
13) Treatment escalation plans and resuscitation
14) Recognising deterioration in people with a learning disability
NEWS2 Scoring:
You may wish to use this online link to calculate a NEWS2 score.
HYDRATION for Older People - Training & Resources
It is really important that older people are and remain adequately hydrated.
This e-learning course link provides training for community carers (of any role or level) and gives an overview of the hydration needs for older people and how to support people to drink more.
This course takes around 40 minutes to complete.
PERSONALISED CARE - Resources
The personalised care institute (PCI) provides a range of extremely useful (and free) courses for health and care professionals, regardless of profession or seniority.
The training offered includes:
1) Core skills - level 1 - 1 hour
2) Shared decision making - level 3 - 1 hour
3) Personalised care and support planning (PCSP) - level 3 - 45 min
4) Remote Consultation e-learning - level 1 & 2 - 30 min
5) A range of PCI-endorsed courses.
All courses are available via this link.