Complex Needs Rapid Response Respiratory Service

Complex Needs Rapid Response Respiratory Service

This Complex Needs Rapid Response Respiratory Service provides specialist assessment, treatment and management of children and adults of all ages with complex physical disabilities with additional respiratory problems in the community.   The aims of this service are to:

• Provide higher standard of clinical treatment and improved outcomes for children and adults with long term conditions
• Reduce hospital admissions, length of stay, readmissions and the number of A&E attendances
• Improve children, adults and their families/carers experience of using services by building on the existing integrated models to join up care between community services, acute services and palliative care services
• Proactively target children and adults at risk of acute respiratory infections early to help keep them healthy and prevent acute infections in the first instance

The service has two parts, a preventative service which involves specialist respiratory physiotherapy assessment, preventative daily chest management plans and training for families, carers, schools and adult care centres, in chest physiotherapy management strategies.  

The second part of the service involves rapid response to children and adults of all ages when they are acutely unwell with a chest infection, this involves;

• Rapid response when they become acutely unwell during service hours (8.00am - 6.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am - 5.00pm Saturday to Sunday)
• Specialist emergency chest physiotherapy treatment to help prevent hospital admissions
• Collection of sputum/cough swabs to provide information on appropriate use of antibiotics
• Prescriptions of antibiotics and any other respiratory medication as required
• Facilitation of early supported discharge if admitted to hospital
• Support to the acute setting if needed if admission cannot be avoided
• Support the transition of children and adults back into Lincolnshire who have been in Intensive Care out of county

Children and adults who are eligible for the service are those with:

• Significant long-term physical disabilities from childhood who are predominantly wheelchair dependent (Level V as classified by the gross motor classification system)
• Children and adults with long term physical disabilities from childhood with very limited mobility (level IV as classified by the gross motor classification system), who have repeated chest infections
• Children and adults with long term physical disabilities from childhood with long term ventilation needs