New ‘red bag’ scheme for care home patients
December 28, 2018
Red Bag Sandwell is a new initiative, designed to help care home residents should they need to go into hospital.
Care home residents who are part of the scheme, will be given the red bag which contains standardised paperwork, their medication and their personal belongings. The bag will stay with them from the time they leave the care home, until they return following their discharge from hospital.
What is the process?
On admittance to hospital
- Ambulance staff will pass on the red bag and checklist to hospital staff and inform them that the paperwork is complete and discuss any issues.
Whilst in hospital
- Please ensure that the red bag stays with the patient at all times
- Colleagues should ensure that an indicator of the red bag is included in the patient’s folder, so everyone is aware that the patient is a resident in a care home and they have a red bag with them.
On discharge from hospital
- When the patient is ready for discharge, colleagues should pack the red bag and complete the checklist which will ensure all the patients belongings and medications are returned to the care home – this should include any medication which has been prescribed during the patient’s stay with us.
- The completed checklist should be handed to the patient transport team, along with the red bag.
Sandwell Council have produced a number of guidance documents about the scheme, including a copy of the checklist. Please do take the time to familiarise yourself with the process and the paperwork.
Downloads:
For further information please visit http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/redbag