Who we are
Hospital at Home is a service run by experienced children’s nurses aimed at treating children with minor illnesses at home. We have teams at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals, based on our Children’s wards (Rainforest at Grimsby and Disney Ward at Scunthorpe).
Both teams take referrals from GP Practices, A&E, Urgent Care Services and their respective assessment units (Rainforest Assessment at Grimsby, Disney Assessment at Scunthorpe).
The Hospital at Home team at Grimsby
The Hospital at Home team at Scunthorpe
Our service
The service operates seven days a week from 8am to 6pm and takes referrals for the following minor illnesses:
- Bronchiolitis
- Viral induced wheeze/asthma
- Gastroenteritis/diarrhoea and vomiting
- Fever of known origin
- Croup.
If a child meets the criteria, they will be discharged from hospital and the team will aim to make contact within two hours by telephone, before a visit is arranged within four hours. The service takes referrals from GPs too, so the child doesn’t need to even attend hospital.
When the nurse visits the child at home, they will carry out an assessment, which includes recording a pulse rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation level, temperature and blood pressure. As well as assisting the family to care for their child, the team will help educate parents on managing future illness and how to access the appropriate health care.
“My son had numerous bouts of croup requiring hospital admissions. Having the hospital at home team meant we could keep him at home where I could look after my other children and not disrupt our family.” Anonymous parent