Unit offers ‘one-stop’ service for frail elderly at Ealing Hospital
The pandemic saw many elderly people stay away from hospital, despite living with conditions that required regular treatment.
The impact of this absence is still unclear but one unit seeing the knock-on effect is Ealing Hospital’s Older Persons Short Stay Unit (OPSSU).
A rise in admissions in the past two months has corresponded with a fall in covid cases with patients feeling more comfortable about coming back to hospital.
OPSSU became a covid ward during the second wave but even then the focus was on older people with frailty getting the best multidisciplinary care, despite the virus.
The unit subsequently returned to non-covid status as the number of cases fell so it could continue working with patients presenting with other conditions.
Dr Kate Senger, Consultant Geriatrician and Physician, said: “We are changing the model of how we look after frail older people so they have access to a comprehensive Geriatric Assessment early in their admission to hospital.
“This allows us to provide the necessary treatment and support to get them home as quickly as possible. The benefit for the trust is improving patient flow through the hospital and avoiding unnecessary long-stay admissions which are detrimental to the elderly as they lose their independence.
“No-one wants to stay in hospital longer than they have to and with a growing elderly population this sort of unit is increasingly relevant.”
OPSSU offers 23 short stay beds for up to five days with a 30 bed longer stay ward for patients requiring extra care.
All patients have access to medical and nursing care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, speech and language and nutrition/dietetics input, psychiatric and social care treatment and assessment where appropriate.
Dr Senger added: We have specialist nursing, enhanced therapy, a daily consultant ward round, intensive discharge team involvement and excellent relationships with community partners with the aim of getting the majority of patients’ home with five days.”