Abandoned care home turned into NHS facility

Doreen, who is 93, is one of the first patients to use the new Preston Lodge, where she is continuing her recovery after a fall at home

An abandoned care home in Leicester has been turned into a recovery and rehabilitation centre to relieve pressure on the city's hospitals.

The first 25 beds have opened at the new Preston Lodge following extensive refurbishment.

The site is expected to be fully up and running by winter, with a total of 58 beds.

The facility is designed for patients who no longer need to remain in hospital, but would benefit from a stay in the nurse-led unit before being discharged.

Patients are expected to stay at the facility at Preston Lodge, in Kingfisher Avenue, for between 21 and 28 days maximum.

Emma Roberts, a head of nursing at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), said patients can lose muscle condition during a stay in hospital and the aim of extending their stay is "to get them back to their peak fitness".

Patients will also have access to dietitians, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.

Emma Roberts is a head of nursing at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust, which is now running Preston Lodge

Prof Damian Roland, an emergency medicine consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary, said: "We take patients who are sitting in an acute hospital bed and move them to a place where they get that rehabilitation.

"That gets the patient well more quickly, prevents them perhaps needing further care, but [it] also releases a bed so that we can release patients from the emergency department and other hospital areas."

On an average day, there are about 100 patients in hospital beds in Leicester's three main NHS hospitals who are medically fit but there are issues with discharging them, according to UHL.

Prof Roland said the project is aligned with the government's 10 year plan for the NHS, which aims to move more care into the community.

Prof Damian Roland said Preston Lodge is a good idea to free up much-needed beds

Rowena Harvey, a deputy chief nurse at UHL, added: "It's not going to solve everything but it's a step on that journey and it's about how we work as a system together to achieve the best outcome for our population."

Preston Lodge was a city council-run care home and prior to it being used by the NHS, there had been discussions over it potentially becoming flats.

Only the ground floor bedrooms have been refurbished so far, with the upstairs due to be completed by December