Intermediate Care Unit opens in East Dunbartonshire

Date: 
Monday, 12 December, 2016

 

A unit which treats older people who are well enough to leave hospital but need further care has been launched by the East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP).

The Intermediate Care Unit offers short term, tailored rehabilitation to patients who have left hospital but still need non-critical treatment. The unit, which is housed in the Westerton Care Home in Bearsden, can treat eight people at a time.

The pilot scheme can shorten a patient’s stay in hospital and allow them to return home safely more quickly, and gives the patient and carers the chance to assess longer term needs. Patients spend up to four weeks in the unit being looked after by a team including a local GP, social workers, a rehabilitation team and nurses. They are identified during their hospital stay by health and social care professionals.

The unit is a homely environment and consists of eight private rooms, all of which are all en-suite, and a comfortable recreation room.

Councillor Rhondda Geekie, Chair of the East Dunbartonshire HSCP, this week visited the unit and met the patients. She said, “The Intermediate Care Unit is a fantastic facility and the pilot is already helping people, despite only opening recently.

“The Partnership aims to offer targeted and streamlined health services which allows service users to have more of a say in their care. Staying in hospital for as little time as possible and getting back to home comforts is something that many older people want, and this unit is helping them to achieve this.”

Interim Chief Officer of the HSCP, James Hobson, added, “I was very impressed with the work going on within the unit. Integration and bringing resources together are key factors in transforming the way in which health and social care is delivered, and the work of this unit is a great example of this.”

 

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