Our Single Point of Referral number is: 0300 033 0333 (option 2)

Email: cnwl.cis3borough@nhs.net

The Community Independence Service (CIS) is an intermediate care service providing advanced short- term nursing care, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and social care to people with immediate health or functional needs, who would otherwise require an admission to hospital.

The service aims to offer safe care at home which enables people to avoid unplanned hospital admissions.

CIS is available seven days a week from 8am to 10pm for adults over the age of 18 whom reside in (includes nursing and care homes) and are registered with a GP in the following boroughs:

  • Kensington & Chelsea
  • Hammersmith & Fulham
  • Westminster

CIS consists of four teams in each Borough:

  • Urgent Community Response: For urgent same day response within 0-2 hours for people with immediate health or functional needs who would otherwise require an admission to hospital (input for up to five days). See referral criteria for guidance.
  • Home First: Working with acute hospitals to facilitate supported discharge for medically stable patients into the community. People can be assessed in their own home on the same day. See handover form for required information. (Input for up to 72 hours)
  • Rehabilitation: The rehab pathway helps people maintain or regain their independence at home to enable people to live well in their own homes, completing roles and tasks that are important to them with as much independence as possible. The majority of people will be seen within 48hours, with non-urgent referrals assessed within 14 days (input for up to six weeks). See guidance here. 
  • Reablement: Services are provided in the home to help a person gain confidence and re-learn skills to carry out daily activities and practical tasks. People must be resident within the relevant London Borough to receive reablement services. (Input for up to six weeks)

Urgent Community Response

All Urgent Community Response referrals require a phone conversation from a health or care worker at 0300 033 0333.

An electronic referral through SystmOne should be completed for services using SystmOne. However the electronic referral should not delay the clinical handover.

In order to enable our teams to see the person on the same day the cut off point for new referrals is 8pm.

Please note routine and task based (that is, for the sole purpose of blood tests or ECG provision) home visits are outside the scope of CIS. Rapid Response is not intended to replace urgent district nursing who can respond after 24 hours.

Home First

Referrals are made directly to the Home First team assigned to the hospital or by the patients' registered GP:

  • Westminster Borough 07808 890 994
  • Kensington and Chelsea Borough 07885 238 098
  • Hammersmith and Fulham Borough 07834 390 362

If referring from another hospital not listed above, please contact the relevant team according to the patients registered GP. Direct email referrals are not accepted without an accompanying telephone call.

Rehabilitation

If considering a referral to rehabilitation but not sure what service is required please review the following guidance. Referrals to CIS from clinicians should be sent to SPoR via cnwl.cis3borough@nhs.net or via the SystmOne referral wizard (GPs).

To be accepted all referrals must include:

  • Reason for referral, explanation of clinical need that requires community rehabilitation intervention
  • Explanation of expectations from referrer of rehabilitation service. This includes what do you think can be achieved/what are the goals?

The triaging therapist may need to call the referrer to discuss further in order to appropriately prioritise

Self-referrals

If previously known to the service (within the last six months), self-referrals will be considered dependent on the outcomes of previous input and the current potential to achieve goals. To make a self-referral call 0300 033 0333 (option 2).

Reablement

All reablement referrals must go via the appropriate Social Services Line:

Residents of Hammersmith & Fulham:

h&fadvice.care@lbhf.gov.uk

020 8753 4198 – Option 3 / 0845 313 3935

Residents of Kensington & Chelsea:

socialservices@rbkc.gov.uk   

Tel: 020 7361 3013

Residents of Westminster:

adultsocialcare@westminster.gov.uk

020 7641 1175

If you need help in a crisis, please do the following

  • Contact the CNWL service looking after you during their office hours
  • If the crisis is during when your service is closed, there are alternative options provided by the NHS found on this page.
  • If you are not already being looked after by CNWL or elsewhere within the NHS, see your GP during normal working hours as they can then refer you to a local service.

Find your closest GP on NHS Choices.