A new kind of NHS care service launched in West Cheshire is helping to get elderly and frail patients out of hospital and back on their feet.
Hospital doctors, nurses and therapists have teamed up with partners from social care and GPs to develop an alternative recuperation facility for the area – The Emerald Unit.
Many patients attending The Countess are treated and stabilised by medical teams within three days of being admitted. However, personal circumstances mean that returning home straight away is not always an option. A revamped 16 bed facility at Ellesmere Port hospital is now providing a safer alternative to help get these patients the care they need, with extra help from therapists and nursing staff who can focus on keeping them moving and hopefully getting them home within three weeks, with support where appropriate. The model is based on current best practice within the NHS, known nationally as ‘Discharge to Assess’.
Approximately one in five patients over the age of 65 who are admitted as an emergency end up staying in Chester hospital for more than two weeks. The reality is that an acute hospital environment is not always the safest place. Particularly frail patients risk picking up an infection, becoming confused, losing their mobility, developing a dependency on 24/7 care and having a general lack of confidence to return home.
The changes at The Emerald Unit in Ellesmere Port hospital mark a step change in how NHS providers and social care work together to wrap a package of support around these vulnerable patients. The partnership delivering the new service includes health and social care professionals from The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Partners4Health (an enhanced GP service).
Nurse Paula Forster is the lead for discharge services across hospital services in West Cheshire. She explained: “Working in the NHS we refer to this type of facility as providing ‘transitional’ or intermediate care. The setting is a much more relaxed environment for these patients who are medically stable , but in need of a further period of assessment from nurses, therapists, social workers and GPs to enable them to maximise their independence to return home safely wherever possible. The hope is that if we transfer patients in a more timely manner to this environment then we should achieve better and more sustainable outcomes for them on discharge.”
The Emerald Unit builds on the success of other recently established Countess services that provide alternatives to hospital including: a Rapid Response Team offering two week packages of care in the patient’s own home; the extended community geriatrician services working across both the Chester hospital site and the Healthy Ageing Centre in Ellesmere Port; and a further collaboration between partner agencies with the development of 16 beds at Sutton Beeches community support centre.
Within the first two weeks of the service launching in West Cheshire, a total of 21 patients were referred to the new facility, with four people supported to return home safely. The impact of the new initiative has increased availability of beds for emergency admissions and urgent operations.
Clinical director for urgent care services at The Countess of Chester Dr Frank Joseph said: “This service is essential for patients who need time to recuperate in a more conducive setting with the help of targeted support. We are providing it in an environment that feels more familiar, is more relative friendly and does not overwhelm the patient. There is no longer the distress or distractions of other critically ill patients in neighbouring beds, interrupting the healing of those on the way to recovery.”
“The more time an elderly patient stays in an acute setting, like our Chester hospital, the more they lose their resilience and ability to make a complete recovery. The move to a supportive environment, where their independence is encouraged will make a huge difference to the individual and to our ability to care for all of our patients in the right place.”
Matron for Ellesmere Port Hospital Clare Edwards added: “Our Ellesmere Port hospital has a proud history in the local area, delivering essential community hospital services from this site for more than 100 years now. As a nursing team it is hugely exciting to be working with GPs and other healthcare partners to play a part in developing new models of care that are more befitting of the current and future needs for the Ellesmere Port and Chester population.”