Hospital stays for elderly reduced in new scheme

Gloucestershire’s new care initiative is helping to reduce hospital stays

A new initiative is working to speed up the discharge of care home residents.

Charity Lilian Faithfull Care has been working closely with a new service provided by Gloucestershire Care Providers Association (GCPA).

The GCPA is funding two dedicated nurses who work in the county’s two main hospitals, Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General.The nurses, known as trusted assessors, liaise with medical teams to make an independent decision on whether someone is ready to return to their home.

The teams at Lilian Faithfull Care work closely with NHS rapid response services and GP surgeries to keep residents out of hospital.

However, when a hospital visit is unavoidable, the new trusted assessors at GCPA can quickly be by a resident’s bedside in hospital.

The GCPA project has been modelled on successful programmes elsewhere in the country.

Currently the GCPA has two assessors, Kate Counter, a registered nurse for more than 35 years and Netty Wyndham-Wade with more than 35 years’ experience in adult social care.

During a hospital stay, the trusted assessors may visit the resident several times a week. The decision to discharge a patient is then made based on their condition and the facilities at the care home.

Suzanne Booker, director of care at Lilian Faithfull Care, said the assessors have quickly become a “valuable asset to the charity”.

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