IV treatments at home 

Under the strain of high patient admissions to local hospitals, moving treatment into the community or home has become a key focus for modern medical care.
 
At the Leicester Royal Infirmary there is an Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) clinic that is changing the way patients who need some intravenous (IV) treatments are cared for.
 
The clinic was fully launched in 2015 following a pilot period, and allows patients to administer their own IV treatment at home following the appropriate training by qualified nurses. The service saves around 4,000 bed days for Leicester’s hospitals every year through treating people at home.
 
Dr Helena White leads the clinic and is one of the infectious diseases consultants. She said “Patients would usually have to be in hospital to have IV treatment, but that is often the only reason that they need a hospital bed. At home patients can have a nurse visit to administer the medication, or they or one of their family can be trained to do this by our nurses.”
 
Nurses Linda and Nikki added, “We provide full training to patients or family members and make sure that they are confident and competent to give the treatment. Only when we are happy that they can deliver the treatment correctly will they be allowed to go ahead on their own.”
 
Find out more about the IV treatments at home and other planned care services.