Before discharge
A community IV therapy nurse will assess you at the hospital, explain the service, get your consent, and support the discharge process. The hospital will notify the community IV therapy nurse of the your discharge date and time, and we will plan the first home visit.
First home visit
A Community IV Therapy Nurse will visit you at home, as agreed in hospital. The nurse will usually arrive at the scheduled time, but may be up to 1 hour early or 1 hour late.
During the visit, the nurse will take general observations, such as blood pressure and temperature. These checks will continue at least once a day.
Any concerns will be discussed with your medical team.
Blood tests
Blood tests are usually done once a week. The nurse will let the you know when a test is scheduled. Results are typically available the next day.
The community IV therapy team will review the results with the hospital medical team and inform you of any changes to your treatment plan.
Looking after the IV line
You will receive written information on how to care for and monitor your IV line. If there are any concerns, please contact your local community IV therapy team:
Community IV Central (Norwich, North, South) telephone number - 01603 518444
Community IV West telephone number - 07827 282721
Follow-up visits and discharge from the service
When the IV therapy course is complete, the nurse will discuss removing the IV line with you and your medical team. In some cases, the line may be left in place. If so, we will explain why.
Typically, the nurse will remove the line after the final prescribed dose. A dressing will be applied after removal.
