Acute Clinical Team – ACT
(part of Bridgend Community Resource Team)
Acute Clinical Team (ACT) is an acute intervention service designed to prevent admission from hospital or to support/facilitate early discharge from hospital. We have two main pathways of care:
Rapid Other Pathway: This pathway offers urgent assessment, intervention and support for patients in crisis. Equipment, emergency carers at home and a multidisciplinary assessment can respond within 4 or 24 hours depending on urgency of need.
This pathway also offers a domiciliary falls assessment service for patients who are too frail or for any other reason are unable to attend a day hospital assessment clinic. They can expect a multidisciplinary assessment at home with access to our other services if required.
Patients will be referred on to our sister services in Bridgestart, Bridgeway, Reablement or to third sector care (via our team’s social worker) as the patient needs.
Rapid Medical Pathway: We also offer a medical pathway to manage patients with acute medical illnesses at home and provide an array of interventions usually only offered in hospital care settings. We can work up frail patients who are unable to attend clinics. We provide intravenous antibiotics, fluids and other medications. We can manage Heart Failure at home and several other specialist areas of care. While not focused on falls – a patient may have fallen owing to an acute illness and the ACT can support GPs who identify sick patients who require increased support and medical monitoring who we want to avoid hospital admissions for.
Patients on this pathway can also access our multidisciplinary team, urgent care and other services if they require.
Who can refer to the service?
Rapid other pathway: Anyone can refer (patient, family, carers, GPs, other HCPs, concerned friends). They can call the CRT Common Access Point or send a faxed CRT referral. Common Access Point will then triage the referrals and calls to the most appropriate CRT team (which may well be ACT)
Rapid Medical Pathway: Referral can only be by registered HCPs. HCPs can call the ACT HOT phone on 07773256619 and they can immediately speak to a Clinical Practitioner for a clinician to clinician discussion on the suitability of a patient for the service.
Please see the attached pathways for full details:
Referral Criteria
Rapid Other: Any patient facing a health and/or social care crisis that may result in a hospital admission if no interventions are implemented. Patients who require a falls assessment who are unable to attend day hospital clinics.
Rapid Medical Pathway:
- Patients with acute illnesses requiring close monitoring at home to ensure prescribed treatments are successful.
- Heart Failure patients being discharged from hospital who require follow up or ongoing IV furosemide.
- Heart Failure Patients who via referral from a Heart Failure Specialist Nurse or GP require IV furosemide at home to avoid an admission.
- Unwell patients requiring other invasive treatments at home. (IV drugs and fluids).
- Very frail patients requiring medical work up.
- Patients who require medical review after discharge.
Exclusion criteria (for both pathways):
- Patients aged 17 years or younger
- Acute chest pain
- Acute shortness of breath
- Suspected fractures
- Major haemorrhage
- New stroke/FAST positive symptoms
Who will they be seen by?
Our ACT team includes Consultant physicians, Advanced Clinical Practitioner/Clinical Practitioners, Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapist a social worker.
We also have within the wider CRT dieticians, Speech and language therapists, specialist pharmacy technicians, a sensory team, telecare services and care staff at our disposal.
What can people expect from the service?
ACT provides Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, domiciliary Falls assessment and medical assessment capabilities and has extensive clinical capabilities for a community based team.
Who does the service signpost/refer to?
We will signpost on to other CRT teams, Care and repair, Third sector care, Third sector services (including charitable organisations), primary care, secondary care, tertiary services, district nursing and social services/network teams.
