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You have been referred to the community IV Therapy Team or District Nurses for Intravenous Antibiotics (IV antibiotics).
This is because you have been identified as needing IV antibiotics for a prolonged period of time for an infection.
You have probably had a recent inpatient stay in hospital where your infection or condition was diagnosed, and it’s likely you’ve had some days or weeks of IV antibiotics already in hospital.
To facilitate your discharge and prevent an extended stay in hospital. You will have had a PICC line or MID line inserted into your arm so these antibiotics can be administered in a community setting.
Your antibiotics may have been changed or altered before discharge. This is to enable the Community IV Therapy Team and or District Nurses to administer them at home or in a local clinic either once or twice a day as your prescription states.
The Outpatient Antibiotic Therapy Team (OPAT) who are based in hospital will have organised your discharge and arranged your medications for you to take home.
The Community IV Therapy Team or District nurse Team will then visit your home, or you may be able to visit a local clinic if you are able.
Your medication will be administered via your PICC or Mid line as per your prescription which we will print out and leave in your documentation.
We will take a blood sample from your line once per week, usually on Monday. If you have a PICC line then the blood can be taken from this. If you have a MID line then we will need to get blood from a vein.
Bloods are usually done on Mondays and we will also change the dressing on your Picc or Midline on this day also. Blood results will be reviewed on a weekly basis and discussed on the Virtual Ward Round.
On the Virtual Ward Round, your condition and blood results will be discussed by OPAT and a consultant who will decide on the best course of action for your treatment. If you respond to treatment then your antibiotics will end as prescription states and the IV Therapy Team will remove your line.
If you need to be on antibiotics longer then your prescription will be altered and OPAT will arrange for more medication to be sent out or collected. Once your treatment is complete then the IV Team will remove your line. The consultant in charge of your care will be involved in all decisions made.
Useful contacts
IV Therapy Team: 0151 285 4696
Our patients matter
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust listens and responds to patients and their carers to help improve the services we deliver.
If you have any comments, compliments or concerns you can speak with a member of staff or contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints Team.
Phone: 0151 471 2377
Freephone: 0800 328 2941
Email: palsandcomplaints
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Approval date: 2 May 2025
Review date: 2 May 2026
Version number: 1