What is complex care?

Complex care is person-centered specialist support for someone with a chronic or long-term health condition that requires extra assistance to manage their symptoms and daily activities to enable a high quality of life

This type of care differs from general domiciliary care because it usually involves a medical intervention and involvement with clinicians and nurses specializing in that individual’s particular condition. Complex care can include any condition that requires clinical support, such as Parkinson’s, acquired brain injuries, or a neurological condition. It can also be provided if someone requires nursing care as a result of their primary condition, for example, a PEG feeding tube after someone has had a stroke.

Who can benefit from complex care support?

Anyone living with a long-term, progressive illness or injury can benefit from complex care. Overseen by our team of clinical nurses with years of medical experience and expertise, we will ensure that you have the right level of care in place for you that enables you to live well with your condition whilst being surrounded by your home comforts.

We’ll get to know you and everything about your condition and symptoms that you need support with. That way, you can receive bespoke, person-centered care at home, enabling you to live the life you want to lead on your terms.

What goes into a complex support plan?

A complex care support plan will include all of the details relating to an individual’s health care needs, including any diagnosis that they may have and the treatment required. Written in the first person, a support plan is centered around the individual and their wishes and will include important information such as their next of kin and other medical professionals involved in their care.

Support plans also give detailed information and instructions to carers, ensuring that they deliver care exactly as agreed with the customer during their initial assessment. Support plans can be altered at any time by the customer’s care manager and are always reviewed every six months.

Complex care support plans will have involvement from a clinical nurse, who will work closely with the care manager carrying out the initial assessment to ensure all aspects of the customer’s clinical care requirements are catered for. For example, there may be specific instructions for someone with a stoma and the amount of support a carer is to deliver.

Following the Activity of Daily Living nurse-based model, support plans are designed to enable an individual to lead as independent a life as possible, ensuring they have a safe environment and appropriate support to do so.

Complex Care Services

Our support staff at CarePlus Healthcare services are currently working to support service users with:

• Ventilator care – support with connecting and disconnecting your ventilator, including NIPPI 3 and Cpap, support changing and cleaning your filters and tubing, and support in recognizing and managing problems with your ventilator.
• Tracheostomy care – we are able to undertake a full tracheostomy change, assist with inner cannula changing and cleaning, and the care of your stoma site.
• Ambu-bagging – manual ventilation where clinical signs indicate respiratory difficulties require it.
• Cough assist – checking and ensuring settings are correct. Fully assisting in the use of your cough assist, either manual or automatic.
• Chest physio – administer a prescribed plan of care from a physiotherapist.
• Suction – we are able to provide both shallow oral suctioning and deep suction via tracheostomy using either a closed or open suction catheter system.
• Bowel care – from assisting you into the right position to digital evacuation and bowel stimulation, including the use of suppositories and enemas.
• Stoma care – care of the stoma site and emptying of the stoma bag.
• Catheter care – including intermittent catheterization, care of your suprapubic site and catheter, and recognition and management of urinary tract infections.
• Oxygen therapy – recognizing the signs of oxygen desaturation, such as cyanosis, and assisting in applying oxygen, whether this is delivered via nasal cannula, face mask, or tracheostomy using cylinders or condensers.
• Epilepsy management – dealing with injury arising from a seizure administration of midazolam and diazepam.
• Gastrostomy care – care of the stoma site, administering medication, water, and food via PEG tube using both gravity and pumps.

Arranging complex care

If you would like to arrange complex care for yourself or a loved one, you can call us today and speak to a member of our customer care team. They will discuss your care needs and arrange a consultation with a local care manager and clinical nurse.

We can also support those who are entitled to fully or partially funded care. Find out more about the different funding options for long-term care here.