New community ward opens at Gainsborough hospital

The new Scotter Ward at John Coupland Hospital has cost £4.5m

A new community ward has opened at John Coupland Hospital in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

Work began last year to transform the former Morton Suite into the £4.5m Scotter Ward.

The 17-bed ward includes a larger palliative care suite and four beds for stroke patients.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust said the ward would play a vital role in preventing patients from having to be admitted to one of the county's larger hospitals.

The trust said it had paid special attention to the colour, lighting and design of the new ward

Over the coming weeks, staff will relocate from their first-floor ward at the hospital and start to care for patients in the new area, which is on the ground floor.

Patients can be transferred to Scotter Ward after a stay at a larger hospital, when they might be ready to be discharged but not well enough to return home.

Other patients are admitted because they have been seen in A&E or an urgent treatment centre and the community ward is better suited for their needs.

Special attention has been paid to the colour, lighting and design to create a more relaxing and stimulating place for people with dementia, the trust said.

A decision was also made not to have a nursing station in the middle of the ward and instead to have a desk in every bay.

Scotter Ward clinical team lead Donna Phillips said: "This is such a proud day for me and everyone who cares for patients on our ward.

"It is wonderful to see all of the detailed planning, hard work and discussions come to fruition."

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