Specialist care closer to home

A new service has been launched to offer fast treatment closer to home.

The new Community Intravenous (IV) Therapy Service will be launched on 3 September, and is available to patients living in the Rochdale borough and Bury who have a sudden or ongoing condition that requires medicines or fluids administered intravenously, without delay.

IV Therapy is a term that describes giving patient’s medicines or fluids through a vein. The types of patients who benefit from IV therapy treatment include those needing antibiotics to treat a serious chest infection for example; also those patients who need medicines to treat a leg ulcer; cellulitis or surgical wound infections.

In the past, patients would usually have had to make a trip to hospital to receive this specialist treatment. This new community based service offers the same high quality care, delivered by specially trained nurses in either one of two convenient community clinics, or for some patients, the treatment can be delivered by the specialist nurses at the patient’s own home.

It is expected that over 800 patients living in the Rochdale borough and Bury will benefit from the service every year. The service is available 24 hours a day for patients who need it, and there is a 24 hour helpline to offer patients advice and reassurance when they need it.

Barbara Barlow, local patient representative said: “This will be a really welcome service for many patients who, instead of needing to be admitted to hospital, will be able to be treated in more familiar surroundings or within their own homes.”

Dr Lynn Hampson, Clinical Lead for NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group said: “This new service is about providing the best possible care by specialised nurses in the most convenient place for patients.

"Our aim is to bring services closer to home, and this is just one example of how we are making improvements to the way that services are delivered for the benefit of our patients.

"This is a really welcome service for many patients, who can now be cared for closer to or within the comfort of their own homes, rather than needing a trip to hospital.”