Brentwood Gazette

Intermedia­te care boosts confidence of elderly patients

AS you may have read elsewhere in the Brentwood Gazette this week, a consultati­on is being carried out by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Service about the way in which Brentwood Community Hospital will be used in the future.

I have written warmly about the work being done at the hospital to support my older and more frail constituen­ts who need intermedia­te care between being discharged from one of the acute hospitals – usually Queen’s in Romford or Basildon

Hospital for this area – and going home. Currently patients who have experience­d strokes, infections, sepsis or fractures are able to spend a short time in Brentwood Community Hospital before being declared fit enough to go home.

Having spoken to a number of healthcare profession­als, there is no doubt this intermedia­te care, in a setting when elderly spouses, family and friends can visit easily, boosts a patient’s confidence after a stay in hospital and they can get home safely and successful­ly.

The consultati­on by the Mid and South Essex ICS is offering two options for Brentwood – and if you want to read about it in the consultati­on document, the options are on page 42.

Option A is to turn Brentwood Community Hospital into a stroke centre for patients across mid and south Essex, so those using the service could find themselves receiving care miles from their homes in Chelmsford, Basildon or Southend.

There would be no intermedia­te care beds in Brentwood, so those who need that post-infection or post-fracture care would be sent to Thurrock or Rochford.

Option B is to retain the 25 Intermedia­te Care (IMC) beds, and open 25 beds for post-stroke patients. This is my favoured option, because it enables us to keep those IMC beds in Brentwood for local people, while also offering new care options for stroke patients.

Brentwood Community Hospital was original built, with the help of significan­t local fundraisin­g for the care of local people. It is the only NHS hospital in my constituen­cy, and provides outstandin­g care for my constituen­ts when they need some extra support to get home.

I would encourage you to take part in the consultati­on, which is open until March 21. You can find the details on my website or at https:// virtualvie­ws.midandsout­hessex.ics. nhs.uk/changes-to-services

www.alexburgha­rt.org.uk