eRedBag

The eRedBag is the electronic version of the paper documents included in the Red Bag Scheme that was initiated in Sutton in 2015, as part of the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Vanguard.

The Red Bag scheme is a physical red bag which helps to have smoother transfers in and out of hospital in an emergency. It contains key paperwork, medication and personal items, and is handed to ambulance crews by care staff. It then travels with the resident to hospital where it is handed to staff in the emergency department. Following the success of the Red Bag scheme in Sutton, and the subsequent roll out across over four-fifths of the country, in 2018 it was recognised that the Scheme could be made more effective if the information in the paperwork was shared electronically.

The eRedBag Pathway further enhances the Red Bag scheme. It has been developed to improve digital information sharing and communication between care homes and hospitals and community teams. By sharing the information digitally, it is standardised, formatted clearly, in colour, contains photos, is legible and accessed easily through SWL’s shared care record portal called Connecting your Care (CyC). The eRedBag was the first digital information share from care home to hospital in the country. 

The eRedBag is helping to provide better care for residents going into hospitals as well as other great benefits:

• Hospital stays could be improved as staff have more reliable and up-to-date information. This can lead to less time being spent in hospital and can reduce time spent in A&E.
• Hospital staff can work more efficiently with the resident as records are easily accessed, reducing the chances of clerical and clinical errors.
• Reduced risk of personal information being breached as it is a digital file, with records transferred electronically.
• Care home staff find they spend less time doing administration and data input, freeing up time to be with the residents, reducing the amount of communication needed with the hospital and impacting positively on digital confidence.
• Better and quicker discharges from hospital and less readmissions.

A local GP’s view

This is another great example of how local health and social care services can work in partnership to improve care for patients.”

Dr Vasa Gnanapragasam, local GP and south west London lead for care homes

Dr Vasa Gnanapragasam, local GP and south west London’s lead for care homes, said: “This is another great example of how local health and social care services can work in partnership to improve care for patients – building on Sutton’s original Red Bag idea that was so successful it was adopted nationally.

“Not only does it help care home residents have an even smoother transfer to and from hospital, it quickly gives hospital staff the personal and clinical information they need to make better informed decisions about the best way to care for people and, most importantly, it leads to a much better experience for some of the most vulnerable people in our area.”

For more information please visit: Implementing the eRedBag Pathway – Health Innovation Network or email [email protected]