Specialist wards to open for the elderly

Specialist wards designed to care for the elderly are set to open over the course of the summer this year.

The move comes as health bosses aim to reduce the number of elderly people who are in hospital beds waiting to be discharged.

The innovative units are part of a new scheme by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, who are planning to open a new 41-bed unit at Pinderfields Hospital. The Dewsbury and District Hospital is also set to open a 20-bed unit in the summer as well.

The idea behind the scheme is to provide faster care for the elderly and to help avoid them being admitted to hospital.

While the less mobile elderly can own stairlifts and kit out their house with a range of equipment to stop falls, research has found that vulnerable elderly people are at a far higher risk of harm in hospital due to complications with falls and pressure ulcers.

Speaking to the Wakefield Express, Trudie Davies, the director of hospital services operations at Mid Yorkshire, says, “As part of our ongoing service review and the increasing numbers of older people requiring hospital treatment, the trust has taken the decision to open specialist units at Dewsbury and District Hospital and Pinderfields Hospital to optimise care for these patients.

“The aim is to provide early specialist input to reduce admissions and support early discharge.”

Specialist units to optimise care for the elderly

An NHS England report revealed that frailty is now one of the most challenging consequences of an ageing population.

This is why the new scheme by Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust has been unveiled as it aims to reduce hospital admissions among the elderly and will cut delays in A&E in the region by optimising its care for these patients.

It is hoped that the early specialist input the patients receive will reduce admissions dramatically and if the scheme is a success it could be widened to the rest of the country.