Housing unit offers short term care to independant older people

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Issue: To avoid hospital admissions by delivering more flexible programmes of care to older people, and their carers, to help them live independently.

Action: The NHS trust and local authority community and housing department arranged for four sheltered housing units to be offered as a resource to deliver health services to older people. The aim was to identify their bio-psycho-social needs so that they could continue to maintain a high quality of independent living, supported by intermediate care within the community.

Outcome: The response from patients has been very positive. A typical comment was: "I had this awful virus and I wasn't too fit. It was better than staying at home with nobody to look after me, even better than in hospital."

An evaluation of the initial project showed a high level of satisfaction with the process and outcomes among both patients and nurses, although there were some concerns about staffing and lack of therapy time.

Organisations Involved: Newcastle PCT, Newcastle upon Tyne City Council

Contact: Nigel Davison
Telephone: 0191 273 8811 ext 23823
Email: nigel.davison@ncht.northy.nhs.uk