Going the extra mile for a vulnerable patient

A call came through to the SIS Coordination Team from the Lewes Victoria Hospital.

The Hospital can’t communicate with a patient and are concerned because he needs important treatment, and they don’t know if they have the correct home address for him.  The GP Surgery he was registered at has returned their letter saying he is no longer with the Surgery.

The Coordination Team offered to help and contacted the patient directly.  It was quickly established that he had very limited English and couldn’t understand what the SIS Coordinator was asking.

The Coordinator contacted an Arabic speaking Community Interpreter who made time to help conference call the service user.

They were able to establish that the patient had moved out of Brighton and had not registered with a new GP surgery.  The patient shared his new address in Worthing and gave consent to share it with the Hospital.

The Hospital will now be able to send important appointment letters and correspondence to the patient, who has been encouraged to contact SIS directly for support with his communication needs.