Urgent Community Response Service
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The Urgent Community Response (UCR) team provides a community rapid response to Lewisham borough residents seven days a week, Monday to Sunday from 8am to 8pm. This service treats patients at home to avoid a hospital admission or readmission.
- Base: University Hospital Lewisham
- Address: University Hospital Lewisham, Lewisham High Street, London, SE13 6LH
- Service hours: Monday to Sunday from 8am to 8pm
About the service
The Urgent Community Response (UCR) team provides a community rapid response to Lewisham borough residents seven days a week, Monday to Sunday from 8am to 8pm. This service treats patients at home to avoid a hospital admission or readmission.
All referrals are triaged by the on-call Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) and if clinically necessary seen within two hours. If required, you can also be seen you later the same day or the next day by a multidisciplinary team of ACPs with support from consultants, the hospital frailty team, and colleagues in emergency care.
Patients who require a two-hour response must be referred by 6pm on the day of referral.
If needed, a short-term intervention can be put in place for the patient for up to five days.
Our service is for people over 18 who are housebound and registered with a Lewisham GP. Please read our eligibility criteria carefully to help ensure that our team can help your patient.
Who we can see
We can see patients who:
- are 18+ years of age,
- are registered with a Lewisham GP,
- patients who are unable to leave home due to illness as well as those who are housebound
Who we cannot see
We are unable to treat patients who have:
- suspected or new CVA/TIA,
- suspected myocardial infarction,
- significant arrhythmia with haemodynamic compromise,
- a severe chest infection that is likely to require oxygen therapy or in respiratory distress,
- gastrointestinal haemorrhage,
- diabetic emergency,
- acute psychiatric complaint,
- intractable social crises,
- suspected fracture, a fractured neck or femur or trauma with a suspected fracture prior to orthopaedic review,
- head injury/trauma and unconscious GCS >13,
- collapsed and require resuscitation,
- acute abdominal pain with collapse.
More about our service
The below video explain more about our service, and what the UCR team can do for Lewisham residents:
Example scenarios
Referrals
Any healthcare professional can refer a Lewisham patient to our service:
- GPs
- One Health Lewisham
- Paramedics
- 111
- Same Day Emergency Care team at University Hospital Lewisham
- Emergency Department at University Hospital Lewisham
Referral process
Please note: emailed referrals without a follow up telephone discussion will not be accepted.
Referrals must first be sent to lg.UCR@nhs.net, and followed up by a call from the referring clinician to 07900 594 383 for a clinician-to-clinician telephone discussion.
All referrals are assessed by our Advanced Clinical Practitioner to ensure suitability.
Opening hours: 7 days a week, 8am - 8pm
Referrals can be actioned on the same day if submitted before 6pm.