Matt Hancock, the new secretary of state for health and social care, has praised St Monica Trust’s innovative approach to care during a visit to Westbury Fields retirement village.
Matt Hancock said: "Westbury Fields is a fantastic example of integrated, high quality social care in action. I loved the feel of the place and the time I spent with residents and staff has given me food for thought as we prepare to launch our social care green paper later this year."
Met by the president of the St Monica Trust, Charles Griffiths and chief executive, David Williams, Hancock was given a tour of the trust’s Westbury Fields site, starting with John Wills House nursing care home.
The leadership provided by Wendy Leaman, manager, John Wills House Care Home, has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC and her staff team have won multiple awards over the past 12 months, including Care and Support West’s 'Outstanding Contribution to Health and Social Care' award.
Wendy Leaman gave the health secretary a tour of the discharge to assess unit, which provides NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG with beds for rehabilitation and complex social care freeing beds in Southmead Hospital for acute admissions.
David Williams said: “We were delighted to welcome the secretary of dtate to Westbury Fields and have the opportunity to demonstrate how the health benefits of innovative and forward thinking retirement living can actually save the NHS money.”
“It’s important that we create new services like our discharge to assess programme that meet people’s expectations and challenge current thinking. Rather than transfer people who are over 70 straight from hospital into a residential care home, they can now be discharged to a specialist facility that provides rehabilitation services to get them back living in their own home.”
