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Image relating to Pioneering service helps hundreds of Coventry people avoid hospital admission in its first year

Pioneering service helps hundreds of Coventry people avoid hospital admission in its first year

A pioneering service that is helping hundreds of people in Coventry get back to independence after being in hospital is celebrating its first birthday.

Since going live in June 2024, the One Coventry Integrated Team (OCIT) has cared for more than 6,000 patients and helped 840 to avoid unnecessary hospital admission.

The service comprises three Local Integrated Teams (LITS), incorporating health and care professionals care from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) and Coventry City Council in a single integrated team to support the whole urgent and emergency care pathway. The teams are based in Newfield House, Opal Centre and Tile Hill Primary Care Centre.

One patient helped by the OCIT service is 88-year-old Joan Foster from Holbrooks who spent eight weeks in hospital after having a fall in her home and lying on the floor for 10 hours. After she was discharged, an occupational therapist and and a physiotherapist from the North LIT provided support for Joan, including sourcing equipment for her at home. Within two months, Joan’s care needs were reduced to a single carer once a day.

“Without the support, I don’t where I’d be,” said Joan. “They gave me the confidence to realise I can do things. I can now get into bed on my own and get to the kitchen to make a cup of tea”.

Over the year, 840 people have avoided an unnecessary hospital admission through the support of the LITs. Fewer people with an urgent care need required a long stay in a care home and more than 2,000 patients were supported for a short while in their home, or close to where they live.

Other achievements of the service include:

  • 86 per cent fewer patients requiring a long-term bed in a care home with successful reablement, promoting greater independence;
  • More than 1,420 patients supported with therapy in their home or close to their homes.

Jodie Storrow, Lead for One Coventry Integrated Team (OCIT), said: “LITs were trialled under the Improving Lives programme in 2024 after a diagnostic showed that older patients with an urgent health and care need were getting the wrong support. One year in, we are demonstrating that we’re receiving the right patients who are right for our service.”

“What we’ve achieved in a year is truly astonishing. I would like to thank each and every member of the LITs for their compassion and dedication to working differently to deliver improved outcomes for the people of Coventry. Day in, day out, they are working as a single integrated team which is fundamentally changing the way we support people with an urgent need”.


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