Manx Care is pleased to announce the launch of its Intermediate Care Service from 25 March 2024.
The implementation of this service will provide safe and effective community alternatives to unnecessary acute hospital admissions, and will support timely discharges from hospital. This will be made possible through new pathways that will replace inpatient admissions and increase early supported discharge capacity.
The development of this service will result in a reduction in both the number of patients presenting in the Emergency Department (ED), and those in the hospital’s inpatient bed base who do not need to be there, improving flow for both emergency and elective activity. It will also enhance the health and wellbeing of patients and carers through reduced risk of hospital acquired conditions, deconditioning (i.e. reduction in muscle mass due to lack of physical activity) and psychological distress.
This initiative is in line with the Island Plan, The Manx Care Mandate, the Manx Care Operating Plan and the Independent Review of the Isle of Man Health and Social Care System.
The redesign of current services will bridge the gap between community and secondary care services. It is a multidisciplinary service providing short term rehabilitation for people who have experienced a decline in their abilities for various reasons, helping them to return to their maximum possible level of independence.
The new Intermediate Care Service will enhance the enhance and incorporate the previously known Reablement service , which, combined with Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital, will provide a number of interventions such as crisis response, bed-based intermediate care, and community-based intermediate care. The skills of the teams already in place will be utilised, with the addition of clinical triage and assessment at the beginning of the pathway.
This model will see Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) working within ED, hospital wards and the community to ensure that appropriate time-critical assessments can be completed via a single point of referral. Treatment and restorative care can then be delivered in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons. Individuals will be able to be referred through a number of access points, including the Wellbeing Partnerships across the Island, Clinical Navigators within the Emergency Services Joint Control Room, and across other Manx Care services.
