Free public tour of Wolstenholme Unit at Rochdale Infirmary

Wolstenholme Unit at Rochdale Infirmary

Staff from Rochdale Infirmary will be hosting a free ‘talk and tour’ of their new Wolstenholme Intermediate Care Unit at Rochdale Infirmary.

Wolstenholme Unit is a 24 single bedded purpose built facility which allows patients from the Rochdale borough to receive enhanced nursing and care therapy care with medical cover tailored to their specific needs. The event will be an opportunity for staff, public and Trust members to speak with staff and patients and to learn more about the facility.

Patients can be referred to the unit via the Urgent Care Centre Team and Transfer of Care Team either from hospital or from their own homes. An integrated therapy care plan supports the patient to achieve their goals and priorities enabling them to gain or retain their independence. Social care staff work on the unit to enable a supported discharge home.

Karen Archibald, Clinical Matron for the Wolstenholme Unit, said: “The tour will give the public and our trust members an opportunity to visit the unit, to meet and chat with staff and to see for themselves what a fantastic service and unit this is. The staff on the unit look forward to you visiting and will be very pleased to show you round the facilities and answer any questions you may have about the unit.”

The unit is part of a new ‘Intermediate Care Tier Service’, which launched in September 2015 which aims to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital and ensure that people can leave hospital more quickly by making care more easily available in the community and people’s homes.

People can be referred to the new service via local health and care professionals including local GPs, nursing and care homes, local hospitals and community health care providers. Treatment and care is provided either in the home, a community setting or at one of two specially commissioned enhanced bed units – Tudor Court in Heywood and the newly established Wolstenholme Unit at Rochdale Infirmary.

Providing support and care from GPs, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social and support workers and pharmacy technicians, these units enable people to avoid hospital and access more intensive treatment closer to home, with the aim of reducing lengths of stay and enabling faster recovery and discharge. They can also be accessed by patients who have been treated in hospital but still require nursing or therapy to maintain rehabilitation or recovery.

The service is provided by a joint venture between Age UK Metro Rochdale (Age UK), BARDOC (Bury and Rochdale Doctors on Call), Big Life Group, GP Care Services Limited, The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Pennine Care Foundation Trust and Rochdale Borough Council.

The tour on Wednesday 18 January 2017 is part of the Trust’s series of ‘Medicine for Members’ events and will be held at the Wolstenholme Unit, Level B, Rochdale Infirmary, with Karen Archibald, Clinical Matron and Unit Manager.

Spaces are limited. To book your place, contact Angela Greenwood on 01706 517302 or email membership@pat.nhs.uk

Rochdale Infirmary is run by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.