Referring clinicians should look for the closest available OPAT team.

The Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) service at Royal Free London (RFL) aims to facilitate the early and safe discharge of patients who are clinically stable and require short to long-term intravenous antibiotic therapy.

The OPAT team offers patient or community nurse administration of intravenous therapy via an appropriate access device.

This is inserted by the nurse-led vascular access team. The team routinely uses Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC) lines (long term and can stay in for up to 12 months) and Midlines (short-term lines and can stay in for 4-6 weeks).

Other services available are:

• patient assessment
• patient training to self-administer IV antibiotics 
• advice on adverse side effects 
• weekly blood monitoring to drug response with appropriate intervention
• weekly Vascular Access Device care and maintenance
• administration of IV antibiotics for daily attenders of the OPAT nurse clinics
• monitoring patients on long-term oral antibiotics.

Contact the teams via the details below:

Royal Free Hospital: Vascular Access & OPAT Service
t: 020 7794 0500 ext. 22563/22561; bleep 1960 or 4020
e: rfh-tr.rfh-opats@nhs.net

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital: OPAT Service
t: 020 8216 4600 bleep 2774
e: rf-tr.barnet-opats@nhs.net

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusions

Patient groups include those with acute or chronic infection such as:

• endocarditis
• osteomyelitis
• cellulitis
• skin or soft tissue infections
• infections with resistant organisms for which there are no oral antibiotic options.

Exclusions

• paediatric patients.

How to Refer

Locations

Royal Free Hospital

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital