Dementia medical unit to open at Rochdale Infirmary

Dr Shona McCallum, consultant and clinical lead at Rochdale Infirmary

A new service that will support hospital patients with dementia from Rochdale borough is due to officially open on Friday (4 April 2014).

The Oasis Unit at Rochdale Infirmary will offer acute medical patients with dementia and confusion who present, or who are referred to the Infirmary, with a safe and suitable purpose-built environment to support recovery and access to nursing and mental health staff.

The five bed unit is believed to be the first of its kind in a hospital setting in England. In addition to the separate rooms, the unit boasts its own relaxing lounge area, kitchen and dining area.

A patient’s length of stay will be between five and seven days depending on their individual needs, as opposed to the current 48-hour length of stay and discharge target for the short-stay Clinical Assessment Unit. This is intended to ensure referral and care pathways are designed to meet the needs of each individual patient in order to provide a better quality of continuing care. The new unit will also extend visiting hours for relatives and carers.

The service will be provided by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals from The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. Registered Mental Nurses (RMNs) will be working on the unit, which has enabled the service to become a seven day model from the original specification of 48 hours.  

Dr Shona McCallum, consultant and clinical lead at Rochdale Infirmary, who will be leading the Oasis Unit, said: “The development of the new Oasis Unit at Rochdale Infirmary is fantastic news for our staff, Rochdale Infirmary, our partners and, importantly, our patients and carers. The new unit will meet the needs of patients with dementia who present with an acute medical problem which requires treatment or diagnosis, caring for them in a safe and suitable environment with enhanced nursing care to support these vulnerable patients.”

Dr Lynn Hampson from NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG, added: “It’s a unique project that also showcases the importance of and continued partnership working that is happening across healthcare services in the Rochdale borough to improve care for patients. It is also another example of our commitment to deliver more services locally, which was outlined in the statement of intent we signed alongside The Pennine Acute Trust and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in 2012.”