Nottingham City Council’s Emergency Home Care Service has won a top honour in the East Midlands Health and Social Care Awards.

The Innovative Nottingham service that is geared to ensuring people being discharged from hospital get care and support when they need it took the award for Improving Access to Services.

They include:

• a hospital service organiser who, as part of the Emergency Home Care team, visits the emergency wards at the Queen’s Medical Centre daily, liaising with staff there to put care packages in place that will allow patients to return home
  
  
• a base and close links with Nottingham Emergency Medical Services in NEMS House, on Derby Road, so that home care is included in any medical response to an emergency call, alongside the 24-hour Through the Night home care service also based at NEMS House

The 23 home care workers in the Emergency Home Care team have dealt with 1,500 referrals over the past year, 500 of them coming through the hospital liaison visits.

The emergency home care base at NEMS was established in 2004 and the Through the Night service began in October 2006. The close links with emergency GPs, the ambulance service and other health services highlights emergency calls that could require home care support alongside immediate medical attention. It means a home care worker can go out with doctors or paramedics.

Councillor Leon Unczur, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio holder for Adult Services, Housing and Health, said:

"The award focused on services that provide improved access and choice for people and Nottingham beat off stiff competition. The way all the agencies work together in Nottingham to make emergency home care available quickly and easily for those who need it has already attracted interest from other areas in the country. After winning the regional award, the Nottingham work will be considered for the National Health and Social Care Awards in London on July 1."