Older Barnet residents are benefiting from a pilot project that brings treatment to their doorstep

Two people stand proudly in front of a brightly coloured community response car — Melissa Geron, Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist and Joshua Cole, Paramedic, from Barnet UCR

People who need urgent medical attention for falls and other injuries in Barnet are benefiting from a new approach which brings paramedics and other health professionals to them at home

The pilot service, which began in Merton and Wandsworth in October 2022 before coming to Barnet, uses Urgent Community Response (UCR) cars visit people in their own homes.

In Barnet these cars are staffed by paramedics along with a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or nurse. They typically visit and treat people at home who are older and living with reduced mobility or frailty, saving them a wait for an ambulance, a trip to a busy emergency department or being admitted to a ward.

The pilot service is provided by community rapid response teams from Central London Community NHS Trust (CLCH) in Merton, Wandsworth and Barnet and the London Ambulance Service.

Melissa Geron, Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist at CLCH, staffs the car in Barnet. She said: “The service is innovative and is designed to reduce the number of patients coming into hospital unnecessarily, enabling them to receive more immediate care and stay at home.”

Margaret Green is 82 years old and was seen by the Urgent Community Response car in Sutton recently. “I’ve been suffering with a trapped nerve in my back, and I was in a lot of pain,” she said. “I had tried to get through to my GP but the queue was very long, so I rang 111. It took 15 minutes for the paramedic and nurse to arrive. They came and examined me and did some tests. They got me some medicine for my pain and contacted the hospital about my MRI scan results and future appointments. They were really brilliant, lovely people and such a big help to me. They really put me at ease.”

Describing the approach, Charlie Sheldon, Chief Nursing Officer at CLCH, said: “Our community rapid response teams have the expertise to provide tailored care to patients who have fallen or have minor injuries at home, and working with paramedics means they’re able to combine skills to respond quickly and help patients regain or maintain their independence.”

As part of the Barnet and Enfield Urgent Community Response car pilot, UCR teams in Barnet saw 926 patients between February and June 2023.

The service supported around 70% of the patients they saw to receive treatment at home and avoid an unnecessary trip to hospital. At the visits, community clinicians are also able to assess and respond to any other needs people have, such as ordering them equipment to prevent falls or referring them to further services for longer term support, whether that’s other community services, their GP, a voluntary organisation or social care support.

Alison Blakely, Director of Clinical Pathways and Transformation at London Ambulance Service, said: “Until now, many of these patients would have been taken to hospital. But we know with treatment and support at home or in a community setting, most of those don’t need to go to a busy Emergency Department or be admitted to a ward – and most don’t want to go. This is a great start to our new pilot project, and I hope will reassure older people across the capital, as well as those with elderly relatives and loved ones.”

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