Posted on: 11 October 2021
CNWL has opened a new service to help keep people out of hospital. The Harrow Older Adults Home Treatment Team (OA HTT) is a new dedicated service providing intensive, out-of-hours, support to individuals at home.
The OA HTT, which opened for patients in early September, facilitates proactive early discharge from hospital for older adults (admitted to both physical and mental in-patient services) who are experiencing mental health difficulties. The service recognises that the best place for a person to receive support is their own home, in their own community, as soon as it is clinically safe for them to be discharged.
On Friday 8 October, the service officially launched at Bentley House, where the Home Treatment team is based. Colleagues were invited to attend the event virtually or in person, with Covid secure measures in place. Lunch, cake and complimentary mints were also available!
The delicious launch cake organised by Vandana Datta and Salma Razvi, Team Admin
Tanya Paxton, Borough Director for Harrow, introduced the launch praising the new service for filling an important gap in Harrow’s services. She said: “well done to everyone involved. It’s been a real hard slog but everyone’s given it 100%”.
Vandana Datta, Harrow Older Adults Service Manager, and Dr Erum Nomani, Consultant Psychiatrist, were also present having led the efforts to launch the new service. Vandana spoke about the OA HTT as a “much-needed service in Harrow.” She said: “if safe to do so, it is always better for us to provide care in the community because it makes our patients more comfortable. We’ve already been able to facilitate four early discharges and we've prevented the need for hospital admission in two cases so this is a fantastic new step.”
Left to right: Dr Erum Nomani and Vandana Datta
Erum Nomani praised all the “fantastic” colleagues who had contributed to the service launch from occupational therapists, psychiatrists and nursing staff to consultants and transformation staff. The service design has also been co-produced with the help of key stakeholders.
Full details on opening times, who the service is for, and how to make a referral can be found by following this link.
Vandana, Erum and the new Home Treatment Team
