DISTRICT nurses and social workers have relocated to Richardson Hospital in Barnard Castle in a move health chiefs say will enhance the facility.
The move is part of a commitment to strengthen the role of the hospital, say County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Durham County Council and NHS commissioners.
District nurses support patients in their homes and in care homes, as well as working with social workers to help people live independently for as long as possible.
By basing these teams at the hospital, health chiefs say they are closer to the community wards, allowing them to liaise with ward staff to ensure quicker and safer discharges.
Sandra Smyth, district nurse team leader, said the patients also have the “reassuring knowledge” that it will be the same nurses and social workers they have met during their stay in hospital that will visit them at home.
Ms Smyth added: “The reaction to the move has been incredibly positive. Both teams have seen real benefits from being jointly located in the Richardson and that’s helping to make speedier, more effective responses for the people of Teesdale.”
She said the move also made it easier for heath teams to work together on care plans and services.
“We can also arrange multidisciplinary meetings to share knowledge much more easily now as we’re all working in the same building, right next door to each other,” added Ms Smyth. Steven Shires, matron for the Durham Dales, added: “We share the same patients and the fact that we can have a conversation about the people that we’re looking after is fantastic. It simply means better, more co-ordinated care for the people of Teesdale.”
Richardson Hospital opened in 2007. However, bed numbers were cut in 2016 due to “falling demand”, prompting concerns from residents.
The hospital now has 16 beds with two further beds that can be used if needed. It also offers more than 20 specialist clinics, including urology, dermatology, audiology, ophthalmology and speech and language therapy.
Moving district nurses and social workers to the site is part of a new health and social care model in County Durham that puts people and patients at the heart of care, according to the county council.
Cllr Lucy Hovvels, cabinet member for adult and health services at Durham County Council, said this brings health and social care services closer to people’s home and prevents “unnecessary hospital admissions”.
Cllr Hovvels said: “We want our health and social care services to help the people of County Durham to lead healthy and happy lives at home.
“It’s wonderful to hear about the positive impact the relocation of district nurses and social workers to the Richardson Community Hospital is already having in Teesdale.
“As well as making it easier for health professionals to work together, it’s providing more co-ordinated care to patients.
“This includes the comforting knowledge that the district nurse and social workers who will be visiting them when they leave hospital are people they already know.”
