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Agenda item

LONDON ROAD COMMUNITY HOSPITAL WARD 1

Minutes:

Sharon Martin, Chief Operating Officer  presented a paper in support of the temporary changes to the services provided at Ward 1 at London Road Community Hospital (LRCH) in Derby which would see the ward’s current mental health inpatient services move to the Kingsway Hospital site so that the ward could accommodate urgently needed cancer and Lymphoedema services.

 

          Ward 1 was an 18-bedded in-patient ward with the ability to increase to 20 beds and was operating with 17 beds in order to adhere to ‘COVID secure’ guidelines. The ward had a mix of single and shared rooms, gender-specific, with en-suite facilities for treating older people with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.

 

          As a result of University’s Hospitals Derby and Burton’s (UHDB) recovery and restoration programme following the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘COVID secure’ requirements meant that temporary changes were needed in terms of how healthcare providers used their estate. Ward 1 would be used for the recovery of UHDB’s cancer service along with other outpatient activity.

 

          Whilst the Lymphoedema team had worked hard to manage the risk, clinical safety and outcomes through virtual consultations, there was a clear need to see some patients face to face in order to measure the deterioration of the patient’s condition, train patients in the correct application of compression garments and in order to avoid admission of acutely unwell patients. It was estimated that around 25-30 patients were considered particularly urgent cases and at risk of needing admission.  The use of Ward 1 would allow UHDB to safely bring the priority patients back into clinic, whilst continuing with the virtual clinics for the patients that do not need to attend in person.

 

          Tissington House, an 18-bed modern facility remained vacant at Kingsway Hospital in Derby following a reduction in demand for specialist dementia in-patient care thanks to the introduction of community services such as the Dementia Rapid Response Teams.  Tissington House would offer a calmer, more specialised healthcare environment for patients currently cared for at Ward 1.

 

          Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a plan for a consultation on the relocation of older people’s mental health services from LRCH to Kingsway Hospital was developed.  Mental health services were provided from two wards (LRCH Ward 1 and Ward 2), however, the introduction of an older people’s mental health in-reach and home treatment service, within their home environment, resulted in a reduction in bed demand and Ward 2 was temporarily closed in 2017 and subsequently re-fitted to expand its services in the interim.

 

          The consultation process, due to start in March 2020, was paused due to the restrictions that came into effect with COVID-19.  Tissington House was the unit that had been identified as the location for the service.  Plans were also made to re-instigate a 60-day consultation process on the proposals.

 

          The Committee was asked to recognise that this temporary move needed to be taken quickly in order to support the prompt restoration of important cancer services.  The Committee was also asked to note the longer-term plans for a 60-day consultation to permanently transfer the Ward 1 service to Tissington House at the Kingsway Hospital site; to be brought back to the Committee in due course.

 

          RESOLVED that (1) the Committee recognise the urgent nature of the temporary move to allow the restoration of cancer services; and

 

(2) a progress report would be provided to the Committee in due course.

 

Supporting documents: