Who is Harrow Children and Young People’s Continuing Care Service for?
The service is for children and young people aged 0-18 who are registered with a Harrow GP and have:
- complex health needs that include behavioural, emotional, mental health or physical disabilities
- identified health needs that cannot be met by existing universal, targeted and specialist local health services
- a rapidly deteriorating condition which requires a care package to support end of life care
What does the service provide?
We provide specialist nursing care for patients with needs arising from disability, accident or illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services alone.
The team works with staff across agencies such as social services and education to organise the provision of individualised care packages for children and young people with very complex, technology dependent nursing needs.
The service enables children and young people with complex healthcare needs to have an improved quality of life by providing them with choice to remain in their own home, enable early discharge, access education and minimise the need for repeated hospital admissions. Continuing healthcare can also take place in a residential school, residential placement or hospice.
The continuing care pathway for children and young people with continuing care needs has three phases:
Assessment phase: This is led by a nominated children and young person’s health assessor, and areas considered during assessment include:
- preferences of petient person and their families
- holistic assessment of patient, including carer assessment
- reports and risk assessments from multidisciplinary teams
- evidence and outcomes of the above are entered into the children and young people’s Decision Support Tool
Decision-making phase: After the assessment, a multi-agency forum, such as a joint funding panel, will make a decision about:
- whether the patient has a continuing care need
- whether there should be a social or tripartite arrangement
- what proportion of funding should be provided
Provision phase: After a decision has been made, an appropriate package of care is put in place that meets the needs of the child/young person. The package of care is under regular review to ensure that the child’s evolving needs are met.
How do I access the service?
You will need to be referred by social services, community nurses, or key workers. A referral will be followed up by a full assessment to establish eligibility for Continuing Care services. Parents/carers or individuals can also request a continuing care assessment.
The service is provided by:
Continuing Care
Continuing Healthcare Team
Wembley Centre for Health & Care
116 Chaplin Road
Wembley
HA0 4UZ
Tel: 020 8795 6339
The service is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm