A nursing care home for the exclusive use of patients leaving Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth is to open this week, in a collaboration between Hampshire County Council and local NHS partners in response to Covid-19.
Based in Gosport, the Clarence Unit at Woodcot Lodge will offer temporary step-down accommodation for 54 patients initially.
On arrival, there will be a 14-day period when patients will be cared for in isolation.
During this they will be supported by a dedicated team of care staff but will not be able to mix with other residents to minimise any risk of the coronavirus, or any other infections, spreading.
The residents will be supported by a team of dedicated nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and care staff who will work with them to plan their rehabilitation, recovery and onward care arrangements.
Stays will be for up to a maximum of 28 days after which residents will either return home or transferred to alonger-term care setting.
In line with all Hampshire County Council care homes currently, families and loved ones will not be able to visit, but residents will be supported to keep in regular contact via phone, Skype or Zoom.
Under current plans, the Clarence Unit is set to remain open until 31 March 2021, but this will be closely monitored and could become permanent, subject to demand levels and the availability of partner funding beyond 2020/21.
Key partners on the Clarence Unit project are Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, the Hampshire Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Hampshire County Council executive member for adult social care and health Liz Fairhurst said the collaboration provide the post-Covid “blueprint" for additional dedicated short-term nursing care facilities for the vulnerable across other hospital systems in Hampshire.
“Finding suitable and safe care accommodation to support those leaving hospital, but who are not well enough to go home, is always challenging,” she added.
“During the coronavirus pandemic, because of the increased need for facilities where people are able to isolate safely and because we do not want to pass undue risk to other very hard pushed public and private care homes, this challenge has intensified.”
