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new care facility Rothbury

New care facility for Rothbury

A new care facility in Rothbury will open in January 2023

 

 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust says – 

We are very pleased to let you know that work which will enable both NHS community hospital and residential care to be delivered from Rothbury Community Hospital is now complete.

The health and care partnership, which is the first of its kind, between Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd (part of People First Care), will deliver this care for the residents of Rothbury and surrounding villages. This partnership is an excellent example of integrated healthcare being delivered in the local community and of the person receiving care being at the centre of decision-making.

The inpatient ward at the hospital has been transformed into a homely residential care home with the provision of flexible NHS beds. Residents and patients will be able to access the facility from Tuesday 10 January 2023.

The flexible NHS bed provision will be available for patients who need longer-term recuperation and rehabilitation and end-of-life care. A team of district nurses, GPs and nurse practitioners will provide clinical support alongside healthcare currently delivered in the community and in peoples’ homes.

A huge amount of planning and hard work has gone into this and we thank all involved for their dedication, determination and patience. We are sure that both NHS patients and care home residents will receive compassionate and high-quality care and that this facility is very welcomed by Rothbury and the surrounding communities.

The care facility has 12 en-suite bedrooms and residents and NHS patients will enjoy home-cooked food which will be prepared on site. The refurbished day room and lounge provides space for patients to relax, socialise and do various activities. There is also a laundry room. The space is homely and welcoming, which is very important as most people accessing the facility will be elderly and vulnerable. There is already a strong interest from the local community.

View a virtual tour of the new care facility for Rothbury

A detailed review of the NHS provision will be done at three and six-month intervals. They will include the number of admissions to health beds, reason for admission, length of stay, if patients are unable to access the health beds, including their reason for needing admission, and feedback from staff and patients. The trust can then make any changes that are required.

A range of people and groups from the local community have been instrumental in the development of this model of care. We would like to personally thank every single person who has been involved in enabling this pioneering model of care to become a reality – those in the local community, those who work in our trust and colleagues from Rothbury Cottage Care.

 

 

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new care facility Rothbury

Rothbury Community Hospital update

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has given an update on work which will enable a new model of care to be delivered from Rothbury Community Hospital:

 

The pioneering strategic health and social care partnership between ourselves and Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd, which is part of People First Care, will see a package of community care being available for the residents of Rothbury and surrounding villages. The work, which will take up to four months to complete and is being delivered and managed by Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd, will involve transforming the inpatient ward at the hospital into a homely residential care home with the provision of flexible NHS beds.

It is hoped that the community health and social care facility will be opened by November.

The flexible NHS bed provision will be available for patients who need longer-term recuperation and rehabilitation and end-of-life care. The facility will receive clinical support from a team of district nurses, GPs and nurse practitioners and will be provided alongside healthcare currently provided in the community and in peoples’ homes.

The clear admission criteria we have for both services should give confidence in the care that will be provided whether someone is in an NHS or resident care bed.

Stark lessons learnt from the last two years include that healthcare provision needs to be flexible if it is to be sustainable and that the focus should not be on beds, but on what is going to enable patients to get better and recover as quickly as possible and the best use of our staff and resources. It is clearly evidenced that medically fit people should not be in hospital beds.

It is fantastic that we are able to be part of a partnership which offers holistic care for people. We are also mindful that this is a new model of care so a detailed review of the NHS provision will be done at three and six-month intervals. They will include the number of admissions to health beds, reason for admission, length of stay, if patients are unable to access the health beds, including their reason for needing admission, and feedback from staff and patients. We can then make any changes that we need to.

This is the first time that Rothbury has had a residential care home within the village. Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd want to make the environment as homely as possible. The 12 rooms will all be en-suite and residents and NHS patients will enjoy home-cooked food which will be prepared on the site and have access to a day room. There will also be a laundry on site.

The same contractor that originally built Rothbury Community Hospital is undertaking the building work so they have extensive knowledge of the building and we have every confidence in their ability to ensure the facility is of excellent quality.

Other positives include there now being another local employer in Rothbury and supporting the local economy. It is hoped that most of staff recruited will be from the local community and full training will be provided. There will also be a day centre and Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd is also looking to provide home care subject to demand and recruitment. They will start advertising various posts from July.

We are committed to making this partnership work for local residents as we appreciate that people have had to wait for a very long time for a solution. We would like to thank residents and all stakeholders for their patience, feedback and support.

 

Tell us your experiences of using health and social care services in Rothbury and across Northumberland.

Rothbury Hospital

Key Milestone for care at Rothbury Hospital

Key milestone for introduction of new model of care at Rothbury Community Hospital

An important step has been taken in the development of a new flexible care model for patients in Rothbury.

Plans by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to provide a package of community treatment, NHS beds and much-needed residential care from Rothbury Community Hospital have now been confirmed.

NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which plans and commissions the county’s healthcare, approved the new model at its recent board meetings before the proposals were also presented to Northumberland County Council’s Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, 5 April.

Earlier this year, the trust announced that it had created a new strategic partnership with a care provider, Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd, part of local family care business People First Care, which will mean it can provide a flexible number of beds to meet the needs of people in Rothbury, while continuing to deliver extra support for people’s health and care needs in their own home.

As part of the scheme, Northumbria Healthcare is committing to utilising NHS beds within this facility – with numbers moving up and down flexibly to meet patient needs – which aligns with initial work in other parts of Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Marion Dickson, the trust’s executive director for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, said “We are really excited about this innovative model of care and are looking forward to getting started, as we believe this is very much the way of the future given the blend of hospital and care home beds alongside care for people in their own homes.

“Our plans were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic so it is great that we are now pushing on with the backing of our commissioners in Northumberland as well as the local authority.”

Rothbury Cottage Care Ltd will operate a 12-bed unit in partnership with the trust for people needing respite care, rehabilitation services, longer-term recuperation or end-of-life care. This facility will be supported by a wider team of district nurses, GPs and nurse practitioners.

Rachel Mitcheson, service director for transformation and integrated care at the CCG, said “We have been working with colleagues at the trust on the Rothbury plans for a number of years now and we are well aware of how important it is to get this right for the community.

“Our board has now backed this proposal as we believe this approach will ensure the best provision for patients in Rothbury and surrounding areas, as it provides a mix of important health and care services.”

The progress has also been welcomed in by community representatives in Rothbury.

Katie Scott, coordinator of the Save Rothbury Community Hospital Campaign, added “After the independent panel directed the NHS, four years ago, to work with local people on reopening the beds, we have kept up a constant dialogue with the NHS team.

“We are pleased the CCG approved this proposal and we are happy with the scrutiny that Northumberland county councillors have undertaken.”

Cllr Steven Bridgett, county councillor for the Rothbury Division, added “I am pleased that the proposals put forward by Northumbria Healthcare in relation to Rothbury Community Hospital have been endorsed by both the CCG and Northumberland County Council’s health scrutiny committee.

“It is my view that they are indeed in the best interests of the residents of this area, but we now need to see some progress on the ground and this facility opened as soon as possible. It has been five-and-a-half years since we lost the use of beds in the hospital and now that we have some firm proposals regarding the future use of the beds, residents quite rightly need to see some swift action and this facility opened as quickly as possible.”