Castleman Acute Respiratory Illness Hub (ARIA) January to March 2023

Earlier this year NHS England and NHS Dorset funded the establishment of short term Acute Respiratory Illness Assessment (ARIA) hubs to help manage general practice pressures, including the rise in Strep A prevalence.  

These hubs operated outside of typical GP hours and were set up so that people with respiratory conditions could receive the treatment they needed without having to go to A&E. Castleman Healthcare piloted an ARIA hub until the end of March for our 13 practices at St Leonards Community Hospital in Ringwood. We couldn't have done this without Dorset Healthcare and we were very fortunate to have their support in providing this site for our respiratory services. 

Conditions treated at the ARIA hubs:

Acute cough, acute pharyngitis, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, common cold, infective or non-infective exacerbation of asthma, infective or non-infective exacerbation of COPD, laryngitis, lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinitis, sinusitis, tonsillopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infections and whooping cough.

Castleman Healthcare launched its hub at the beginning of January and ran until the end of March with the service operating from 9:15 to 13:15 Monday through to Saturday.

Castleman Healthcare hopes to be able to run the service again pending funding during the coming winter 2023/2024.