Red bag scheme launches in Kingston   You are here: Home » News Detail

Improving care for nursing home residents - the red bag scheme

People living in care homes across Kingston can now receive quick and effective treatment if they need to go into hospital in an emergency following the launch of the red bag scheme.

The scheme allows people in care homes to keep all their important documentation together making it easier for hospital staff to see at a glance existing medical concerns and current medications.  

It contains information about the person’s general health, medication records and important personal details as well as containing useful personal items such as toiletries and clothes for discharge.

Your Healthcare’s IMPACT team rolled out the scheme throughout Kingston’s 24 nursing and residential homes. The team deliver urgent care to residents providing advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis, management, decision making, prescribing and training to reduce hospital admissions.  

The IMPACT team also monitors admissions and discharges of Kingston’s nursing home residents and visits patients on the wards at Kingston Hospital. While in the hospital, the IMPACT team can expedite their discharge home by organising paperwork, prescription charts, prescribing medication and supports the care home in receiving patients back to their familiar environment.

The team can identify trends in admissions to hospital and will implement training to care homes to reduce admissions.

Amanda Gunner, IMPACT team lead, said: “As our IMPACT team has worked within Kingston’s nursing and residential homes on a regular basis for many years, we were in a perfect position to implement the red bag scheme to each care home and help them gather all the relevant information for each person. We were also familiar with many of the patients and their medical history which helped us all to gather the information about each patient quickly.  

“Another advantage for Kingston is that our IMPACT team actually works within Kingston Hospital and they can monitor patients while they are in hospital and then assist with an early discharge when appropriate. The team also makes sure that everything is in place once they are back in the home.”

Margielyn Gonzaga, nursing home manager, said: “It is easier for the escort and easier for the hospital to identify the resident as all the information is there.

“The IMPACT team are available to support with any issues.”

-ENDS-

Notes for Editors

The NHS England initiative was taken up in Kingston with the help of our partners - Kingston CCG, the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and Kingston Hospital.

The red bag initiative is part of the NHS England’s Enhanced Health in Care Homes framework.

Your Healthcare

Your Healthcare is a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides more than 30 health and social care services available to all the residents in Kingston upon Thames. We formally became Your Healthcare Community Interest Company in August 2010. Prior to this we were part of NHS Kingston.  We are primarily commissioned by Kingston CCG.