Norfolk hospital patients to be sent to hotel to free up bed space

Caring for patients in a hotel will free up vital bed space in hospitals, a CCG said

Patients well enough to leave hospital but who need extra support before going home are to be sent to a hotel, in an attempt to free up bed space.

Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said it was a temporary measure after the service declared a critical incident earlier.

The "pilot care hotel" will cater for up to 15 patients on a short-term basis for three months in Norwich.

The CCG said it was expected to open in the next few weeks.

It said the concept had been given the backing of the Norfolk and Waveney health and care system and there would be strict criteria around who was eligible for a bed.

People with a confirmed Covid-19 diagnosis or those displaying symptoms would not be suitable for the care hotel and would be cared for in more appropriate settings.

Cath Byford, chief nurse at NHS Norfolk and Waveney CCG, said: "This innovative pilot will provide a short-term safe, 'home from home' environment for people to move to from hospital when they are well enough but when they are not quite ready to go home without support.

"This will help to speed up the passage of patients through our local hospitals so that we can make more beds available for those who need them most.

"This is the first time we have tried this new approach in Norfolk and Waveney, although the model has been used successfully in other regions."

Patients will be cared for by staff from Abicare, an organisation whose managing director said had "over two years' experience of running care hotels".