By Lucy Ashton
More than £2million of extra funding being made available to support alternatives to admission for this winter will allow development of clinical services across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde including the successful OPAT service based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
OPAT – the Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy service – delivers acute-level hospital care in a non-inpatient setting to patients with complex infections.
The seven-day-a-week nurse-led service treats patients with infections who require intravenous antibiotics either on a short or long-term basis but who are otherwise suitable for outpatient treatment.
OPAT service activity has increased significantly in 2023 with more than 1,400 patients assessed to date with admission prevented or early discharge facilitated for more than 1,000 patients. It is estimated that by the end of 2023 up to 20,000 inpatient days will have been avoided as a consequence of the service in the previous year.
The extra funding from the Scottish Government will be used to extend the existing service to patients within the catchment area of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, in addition to a Paediatric OPAT service.
The new Paediatric OPAT service based in the Royal Hospital for Children supports early discharge for children with acute infections requiring IV antibiotic therapy.
Professor Andrew Seaton, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and lead for the OPAT service across NHSGGC, said: “Our aim for patients is to provide a safe alternative to hospital admission across all GGC sites whenever possible and otherwise identify those who may benefit from a supported discharge as early in their hospital admission as possible. We have been working closely with GPs and acute care physicians to achieve this.
“We’re looking forward to further expanding the OPAT service to enable anyone with an amenable infection from across GGC can avoid hospital admission or have a short as stay as possible.”