Teams

Integrated Community Teams

What we do

Our integrated community teams (ICTs) bring together community nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists to work as one team to serve a local area.

These teams work alongside GPs to provide care for people in their place of residence or in the community.

They also work with the ward teams based in our community hospitals across Gloucestershire, and with our countywide specialist services, voluntary organisations and other care providers to provide assessments, treatment and support for people within the community. We have teams based in Gloucester, Stroud, Cheltenham, north and south Cotswolds, Tewkesbury and the Forest of Dean.

Who we support

We provide services to anyone who, for health reasons, cannot access hospital appointments or primary care services such as a visit to the GP.

You must be registered with a Gloucestershire GP in order to access our service.

The type and range of support provided by the teams is targeted to meet the individual needs of patients and their carers/family.

The support we provide

We provide services to:

People needing short term support to recover from an illness or injury
People who need support in living well with a long term health condition or disability
People who have a terminal diagnosis and want to be supported to be at home for the end of their life.

Community nursing

Community nurses (sometimes known as district nurses) mainly visit people who are ill at home and are unable to get to services based at the doctor, hospital or other clinics. Our nurses may also see people in clinics or other settings to provide specific services, such as care for leg ulcers.

Community and district nurses specialise in:

Nursing care and advice for people who are really unwell but can be looked after at home
Nursing care and advice after an operation
Palliative care and end of life care
Care and advice to manage a long term health condition
Wound care and advice
Advice about continence problems
Advice about healthy living
Assessing people’s nursing needs
Referring people where appropriate to other services

Although the community nursing service can provide nursing care 24 hours a day, we mainly visit patients in the daytime. Your doctor, the hospital or someone else looking after you may arrange for a nurse to come to your home.

Our community nursing teams can be contacted on the following numbers:

Cheltenham locality – 0300 421 6070
Cotswolds locality – 0300 421 6072
Gloucester locality – 0300 421 6071
Forest TNS locality – 0300 421 6074
Stroud locality – 0300 421 6073
Out of hours – 0300 421 0555.

Physiotherapy

Patients are seen in their home when they are unable to travel to the hospital or community clinic for physiotherapy due to their condition.

Physiotherapy may be needed because you have recently been discharged from hospital, you have experienced a decline in your ability to walk, you have experienced limb loss, have had a recent fall, have pain or an injury affecting muscles, joints or bones or have a life limiting illness and there has been a sudden change in your ability to walk or function.

Referrals can be sent in by health professionals or patients, carers or relatives (please ensure you have consent to make the referral if doing so for someone else).

Make a referral

Occupational Therapy

Our Occupational Therapy service is for adults (18+) who are registered with a Gloucestershire GP and need support with issues such as:

Rapid, unexpected deterioration in function (the ability to do things)
At risk of re-admission to hospital following previous hospital treatment
Rapidly deteriorating palliative conditions or a sudden, unexpected deterioration at end of life
Post hospital discharge follow up where there are safety concerns or concerns about the person’s function (ability to do things)

This service is not open to self-referral but health and social care professionals can refer.

Service locations

We aim to provide your care close to home or within your home. Most people are seen at home, and our occupational therapists will work with other members of the team to provide co-ordinated care. If you are in a community hospital however, you will be seen by one of our occupational therapists based there.

Please note: Occupational Therapy services at Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital are provided by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

As of 1 August 2026, any social-care related Occupational Therapy related needs are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. This includes home adaptations, equipment, housing involvement for unsafe or unsuitable accommodation, long term support needs and functional decline not due to an acute medical issue.

To access this service, please use the referral form here:  Adult Social Care – General Enquiry Form | ASC Form Privacy – Gloucestershire Forms. If you would prefer to call the team, their phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm – Call 01452 426 868.

End of life care

The Trust’s approach to end of life care is based on ‘Six Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care – a national framework for local action 2015-2020’ which you can read in full by following this link.