News from our partners: Therapy-led ward to open at RSH
News from our partners Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
A ward designed to shorten the length of stay for patients at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) is set to open this winter.
The 13-bed therapy-led ward, with an adjoining discharge lounge, will open in the Copthorne Building at RSH in New Year 2020 and will help to free up acute beds over the winter months.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH, has secured £1.6 million as part of a £184 million package announced by the Government this week. The money will be used to complete fire safety works at the Copthorne Building to bring it up to modern standards, allowing the ward to open.
Kath Preece, Head of Nursing for Scheduled Care at SaTH, said:
“The ward is designed for patients who are coming towards the end of their treatment and therefore need less care, but are not yet ready to be discharged as they still need the input of a therapist.
“By providing that level of support on a specialist ward, we hope to be able to shorten the length of stay for the patient. That is obviously better for the patient, and will also allow us to free up more acute beds as we deal with the additional demand that we expect over the winter months.”
Paula Clark, Chief Executive at SaTH, said:
“We are delighted to have secured this money from the Government to complete the work to bring the Copthorne Building up to modern standards.
“During our redevelopment of the Copthorne Building, some issues were identified due to the age of the building, which dates back to the 1960s. Our Estates team has been working hard with building control and fire regulators to address these issues.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:
“These loans will make sure hospitals continue to deliver vital services to patients in buildings that are safe and have the right equipment to deliver world-class care.
“Since July, we have injected £4.8 billion capital funding into the NHS – helping refurbish hospital wards, replace old medical equipment and maintain NHS buildings.”
