Many people are best supported by a quick response from services in their community. Urgent community response (UCR) teams provide urgent care to people in their own homes which helps to avoid hospital admissions and enable them to live independently for longer. Through these teams, people who urgently need care can get fast access to a range of health and social care professionals within two hours.
2hr UCR is the initial and immediate community response to prevent avoidable hospital admissions. The aim is to prevent further deterioration and keep patients safe in their own home. Under the umbrella of urgent community response, there are other services such as virtual wards, transfer of care hubs, rehab and reablement that work together to ensure a safer system flow.
The UCR team respond to, assess and work with a wide range of partner organisations in the local area, including social care, when coordinating a response. The vast majority of patients referred into our UCR service are seen within two hours and it operates for at least 12 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Urgent Community Response (UCR) takes referrals from any health or social care professional, including NHS 111 and the ambulance service. UCR is available 8am to 8pm, seven days per week.