What is Acute Care?
Acute care is a special section of healthcare that provides treatment for individuals with short-term, severe medical needs. Unlike long-term care, which is delivered over an extended period, acute care services help patients with sudden symptoms during a brief recovery period. Depending on the person’s needs, this type of care can be delivered in hospital departments or at home.
Acute care experts often treat people with serious symptoms that need urgent intervention to avoid a lasting disability or even death. These services include various clinical interventions, such as trauma care, emergency care, intensive care, critical care, urgent care, and short-term inpatient stabilisation.
Subacute Care
Subacute care refers to treating people who don’t necessarily struggle with life-threatening conditions but still require support to regain their independence after surgery or an illness. Patients in subacute care often require specialist support, including wound management care, tracheotomy care, inhalation therapy, or intravenous tube feeding.
Post-Acute Care
Post-acute care covers various medical services related to the patient’s steady recovery after hospitalisation for an injury or illness. As a part of post-acute care, patients can receive rehabilitative or palliative services after their stay in the acute care department. Depending on the level of medical attention needed, these care services may be delivered in a facility, through outpatient therapy, or in the individual’s own home.
Types of Acute Care Services
Acute care is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of services catering to the patient’s health needs and the severity of their condition. Choosing the right department is vital for the patient and their family. Below is a list of the main types of care services within acute care.
Acute Care in Hospital
The acute care department is a hospital section where physicians provide patients with medical care as they recover from illness or surgical intervention. A medically stable patient is typically ready to be discarded from the acute care unit after a few days. Patients who require a longer recovery can receive care from a skilled nursing facility or transitional care unit.
Trauma and Surgical Acute Care Services
This type of acute care service offers comprehensive, high-standard medical support for patients with accident-related injuries or critical conditions that require surgery, including near-death injuries, appendicitis, and strangulated hernia.
Emergency Care
Emergency care covers the treatment of acute bodily injuries or illnesses which, in the absence of immediate medical attention, may lead to severe disability or death. Clinicians in the emergency department provide care for individuals with a wide range of urgent medical needs, such as stroke, heart attack, dehydration, abdominal pain, or shortness of breath.
Urgent Care
Urgent care services include medical attention for minor health issues and additional services like vaccinations or blood tests. Urgent care centres are a convenient option for individuals who don’t have a primary doctor or require medical services outside of business hours, but they cannot treat life-threatening conditions.
Intensive Care
Intensive care services deliver specialist treatment to patients with severe symptoms needing critical medical support. As a part of the intensive care unit (ICU), physicians provide life support to patients with severe illnesses and injuries.
Acute Care at Home
Apart from special hospital departments, community healthcare teams can deliver acute care services in the patient’s own home. These teams include several medical experts, including the patient’s GP, specialists, nurse practitioners, and trained support workers. Clinicians who provide acute care at home are equipped with adequate painkilling medicine and patient monitoring devices.
At-home acute care providers support vulnerable individuals on a live-in or visiting basis. At the beginning of the treatment, the support worker is presented with a personalised care plan covering every aspect of the patient’s clinical needs. This way, the whole family can be confident that their loved one’s health needs are met down to the finest detail.
Who Needs Acute Care?
Acute care services are complex medical treatments for individuals with severe and usually short-term symptoms. These symptoms are typically related to a particular disease or traumatic accident and require immediate intervention to prevent severe impairment of bodily functions or death.
Acute care providers tend to patients following their current health conditions. Clinicians prioritise people with life-threatening issues, such as injuries from traffic accidents, strokes, myocardial infarctions, seizures, acute appendicitis, and strangulated hernias. The first 24 hours of the treatment are the most important in saving these patients’ lives and preventing long-term disability.
Who Can be an Acute Care Provider?
Acute care service units are a regular part of community healthcare services. In terms of management, they are organised similarly to other medical facilities. The staff in acute care is diverse, dedicated, and above all – experienced in the field. An acute care provider needs to be alert, agile, and ready to treat patient after patient. At the same time, they are trained to meet every individual’s specific needs and act as an advocate for their family. The acute care unit usually consists of the following professionals:
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioners
- Physicians
- Clinical Pharmacists
- Dietitians
- Consultant Geriatricians
- Respiratory Therapists
- Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists
- Trained Support Workers
- Care Managers and Supervisors
- Transport Personnel
Benefits of Acute Care at Home
At-home acute care services allow individuals to receive active and complex medical assistance in their familiar surroundings, close to their loved ones. The presence and emotional support of family members largely benefit the patient’s physical as well as mental health. Being able to stay in the comfort of your own home and slowly continue to participate in daily activities are significant steps on the patient’s journey towards healing and independence.
For example, having the company of your pets or tending to your plants may be uplifting and motivating during your recovery period. Some individuals who recover from a critical injury or illness may even draw energy from looking out the window and seeing the familiar sight of their garden, neighbourhood, or nearby parks.
Like all home care providers, support workers who deliver acute care at home prioritise the patient’s privacy, dignity, and personal boundaries. Within an at-home arrangement, the clinician team prioritises your decisions on how they should deliver acute care services in your home. Therefore, acute care at home is a preferable alternative for all relatively stable patients who don’t require critical assistance from a hospital emergency department.
How to get Acute Care at Home?
At Leaf Complex Care, our lifelong mission is to provide comprehensive and person-centred care for individuals with complex health needs.
We offer high-standard, CQC-regulated care to people with a wide range of needs in the comfort of their own homes. When life hits you with sudden health challenges, our rapid response team of experts is here to ensure your needs are met in your familiar surroundings. For our trained clinicians, the patient’s safety and their whole family’s peace of mind are of the highest importance.
Leaf’s acute care team consists of experienced professionals that cover various aspects of urgent care. Our impact-driven team will take care of your initial assessment, ongoing health monitoring, administration of medicines, and further specialist assistance. We are equipped with modern technology and interdisciplinary knowledge in treating patients with many conditions requiring immediate care, from accident-related injuries to severe mental health crises. In addition, our practitioners imprint genuine compassion and kindness in their approach to every patient and their whole family.
If you need acute health assistance at home for yourself or a loved one, don’t hesitate to contact us as soon as possible. We currently provide at-home care services in Bristol, Exeter, Slough, Somerset and the Midlands. The Leaf acute care team will outline a personalised care plan and ensure your dignified and comfortable journey to recovery and independence.
Help us With Acute Care
If you are an impact-driven and enthusiastic support worker with a special dedication to acute care, Leaf Complex Care is the perfect place to advance your career. We offer free training and a motivating work environment where your achievements will be recognised and rewarded. Contact us and join the Leaf family to leave a life-changing impact on people’s lives.
