OPAT service (outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy)

Clinics

Our OPAT services oversee outpatient therapy with antibiotics that are required intravenously or occasionally intramuscularly.

OPAT weekly review clinic at Charing Cross Hospital

Address

Outpatient clinic
Fifth floor
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8RF

Hours

09.00 to 13.00, every Monday

Contact information

Phone: 020 3311 1933

Additional information

This clinic is run by specialist nurses, medical and pharmacy staff

OPAT daily reviews at Charing Cross Hospital

Address

Ambulatory emergency care
Ground floor
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8RF

Hours

09.00 to 17.00, Monday through Friday

Contact information

Phone: 020 3311 1933

OPAT weekly review clinic at St Mary's Hospital

Address

Mint Wing outpatient
Second floor
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Hours

09.00 to 13.00, every Friday

Additional information

This clinic is run by specialist nurses, medical and pharmacy staff

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 3196

OPAT daily reviews at St Mary’s Hospital

Address

Same Day Emergency Care
Ground floor
Paterson Building
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Hours

09.00 to 17.00, Monday through Thursday

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 3196

Meet the team

Clinical nurse specialists

Richard Cele
Anu Viljanen
Theresa Eigo
Beverley Balancio
Marife Cariaga
Constance Ndhlovu

Specialist pharmacists

Mark Gilchrist
Aneeka Chavda
Amy Francis

Medical staff

Dr Melanie Pathiraja
Dr Dunisha Samarasinghe
Dr Victor Vasquez Zorrilla

Patient information

Before your appointment

Patients are usually seen within a week of referral from clinicians or GPs. You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your consultation. You are also welcome to ask for a chaperone and we will endeavour to provide one for you.

Please bring a list of any medications you are taking as well as a list of vaccinations you’ve received.

During your appointment

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some consultations. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

You will be referred to the service by the medical team caring for you in hospital or by your GP. A member of the OPAT team will then visit you on the ward or contact you at home to discuss the start date for your intravenous therapy. We will explain the nature of your infection, the possible causes and the treatment plan.

We will also discuss how your drugs will be administered, any likely side effects and how you can contact us for support, advice or if you have any problems. You can ask us questions at any stage.

When attending the OPAT appointment, the nurse may sometimes need to change the dressings near the intravenous site or take a blood sample from you. We will also discuss your general wellbeing and the progress of your treatment, and may refer you for review to one of the medical teams.

At each visit you will be given medicines for the following week’s treatment or until your next appointment.

After your appointment

Your length of treatment will determine how your antibiotics are delivered. If your treatment is likely to be short (up to 10 days), you will be discharged home with a cannula – a plastic tube that goes through your skin and into a vein to allow the administration of your medicines directly into your blood stream. You will have a waterproof dressing over the cannula to keep it clean and dry.

For medium- and long-term IV therapy (over two weeks) you will require a PICC line (a peripherally inserted central catheter) to be fitted. This is inserted into the veins of the arm near the bend of the elbow or above the elbow. It then slides into the vein until the tip sits in a large vein known as the superior vena cava, just above the heart.

You will be given instructions and a written booklet on how to look after the line once you are home.

Depending on your medical history and symptoms, you may be informed about the results earlier than the follow-up appointment if the results are not within the normal range.

Refer to this service

Most patients are referred to our OPAT services through the A&E department or as inpatients. Referrals from GPs can also be seen at the service.

Referrals to OPAT services can be made by hospital clinicians, A&E department, or GP by contacting the OPAT clinical nurse specialist (bleep 0008 or phone 020 3312 6237 for St Mary's Hospital and bleep 6453 or phone 020 3311 1933 at Charing Cross via hospital switchboard). The OPAT nurse, microbiologist or infectious diseases doctor will then carry out an assessment to ascertain the suitability of the referral.

For enquiries, please contact the OPAT team using the clinical nurse specialist bleep numbers above.

Once accepted, the OPAT team will arrange a care plan for the patient following discharge.

Secondary care

For Charing Cross Hospital, please bleep the OPAT nurse on either 6453 or 1947 via hospital switchboard For St Mary's Hospital, please bleep the OPAT nurse on 0008 via hospital switchboard.

GP advice

For more information about OPAT at St Mary's Hospital, please email imperial.OPAT.SMH@nhs.net

For more information about at Charing Cross Hospital, please email imperial.opat.cxh@nhs.net