Doro COVID-19 Discharge Service image

Working with NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Doro Care UK has launched the COVID-19 Discharge Service, which enables speedy hospital discharges across Cheshire.

The COVID-19 Discharge Service ensures that patients leaving hospital receive a telecare package, delivered to their home within two hours of discharge.

The innovative service was launched following the publication of the NHS COVID-19 Hospital Discharge Requirements on 19th March, which said that in order to meet unprecedented pressures during the coronavirus pandemic, safe and rapid discharge of people who no longer require a hospital bed would be essential.

To support the NHS, Doro Care UK, Cheshire West & Chester and Cheshire East Adult Social Care Departments and Cheshire CCG quickly joined together to mobilise an accelerated discharge process to help maintain capacity in hospitals across the region by offering responsive telecare installations.

Telecare can act as a lifeline to those who need to self-isolate or have health conditions as it is a way of keeping in touch during an emergency with a trained professional 24 hours a day.

Wendy Darling, Doro UK Country Director, said: “We have seen an unprecedented need for our services during the pandemic. We are working hard with hospital discharge teams across the UK to get people home from hospital as quickly as we can.

“Our keyworkers are working incredibly hard with our clients and customers to help the vulnerable stay safe during this very difficult time.”

Doro’s keyworkers will deliver a telecare alarm unit, pendant and install a keysafe within two hours of receiving patient discharge notification from Cheshire staff in its acute hospitals. The installation of telecare enables people to return home following a stay in hospital, with the security of knowing they can press their pendant if they need help in an emergency.

Additionally, the keysafe means that in the event of an emergency, Doro can give the code to the emergency services who can gain access to the property without forced entry.

Doro’s monitoring centre, Welbeing, also carries out follow-up welfare check calls with the patient, where required, to make sure they are settled and have everything they need to live safely whilst shielding or social distancing during the pandemic.

The project is being co-ordinated by John Grant, Clinical Project Manager at NHS Cheshire CCG, who stressed how important it was that Doro Care UK already had close working relationships with the three acute trusts across Cheshire to ensure staff are quickly embedded within the interdisciplinary and emergency teams within the acute trusts to facilitate timely and safe discharges.

The CCGs are being supplied with Doro dispersed telecare alarm units and keysafes. Equipment and 24-hour support are provided free of charge to the patient for a specified period, who then have the option of converting to a private Doro client at the end of the period.

Doro is a specialist in digital social care solutions, offering complete telecare systems for older and vulnerable people, covering everything from hardware and software to monitoring and support.

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