Retired nurse calls for reopening of dementia ward

Maddy Nettleship (first from left), pictured with other protesters, has called for the elderly and dementia care ward to be reopened

A retired nurse has called for a hospital ward, which specialised in the care of elderly patients with dementia, to be reopened.

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust recently closed ward 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to cut costs and deliver more care in the community.

Maddy Nettleship, a former nurse and member of Keep Our NHS Public, said the decision would mean there were fewer "expert" nurses available and fewer beds for vulnerable patients.

The trust said the changes would allow it to provide patients with high-quality care at home or in the community.

Following the ward's closure, the trust said it would expand its frailty services to seven days a week, provide more dementia training to staff and make all other wards dementia-friendly.

It also aims to grow its "virtual ward", which allows patients to be monitored while at home.

Ward 23, which specialised in elderly care, was located in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's Jubilee Wing

But Ms Nettleship said the system will not match the previous level of care provided by ward 23 and has resulted in the loss of 24 hospital beds.

"Care in the community is good but it actually takes a lot more staff to provide care in the community than it does on a ward - and they haven't got that," she told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"They've got three extra frailty nurses, that's for the whole of Gateshead, and they also cover people in the hospital as well."

Ms Nettleship has called for the ward to be reopened and for a consultation on any future changes to be carried out.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "By expanding services, such as the frailty virtual ward and the acute frailty team, we can provide safe high-quality care in more flexible and personalised ways, including at home or in the community."

They also said that anyone who still required hospital treatment would be admitted to hospital for care.