Addenbrooke's opens temporary ward at Papworth to ease pressures

A temporary "discharge ward" has been opened at a hospital to ease so called bed-blocking by patients medically fit to go home.

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge has opened the 20-bed ward at neighbouring Royal Papworth Hospital.

It will remain open until spring, and look after patients medically fit for discharge, but for whom home care packages are not in place.

Addenbrooke's hopes it will ease pressure on its emergency department.

The temporary ward will be staffed by Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke's.

It said in the two weeks the ward had been open, it had discharged 33 patients, and would remain open until pressures eased.

At the age of 92, Josephine Relfe, from Cambridgeshire, is a patient on the temporary ward.

She is recovering from two fractures to her skull and one in her lower spine, following a fall.

She will require regular physiotherapy outside of hospital, but with no relatives nearby, or any carer to help, she cannot yet return home.

"I'm an independent, stubborn, old biddy," she said. "I'm used to doing my own cooking and washing and what have you."

But despite her desire to remain independent, she did not want to return home before she was ready.

"I'm determined not to go home until I can walk and look after myself," she said.

Also waiting on the temporary ward is Margaret Smith, 80, from Lincolnshire, who has a complicated health history.

She felt anxious about returning home after spending nine weeks in hospital, having had two hip operations.

"I'm getting myself worked up because I'm going home now, and because I don't know what's going to be at the other end," she said.

"Hopefully there's going to be a carer, and hopefully there's going to be somebody to help me round the house to get me reorientated again really."

Moving patients to the Papworth unit has freed up 20 beds at Addenbrooke's, but if patients then stay longer in the temporary unit, the pressure on beds could return.

It could also lead to more health risks to those staying, according to matron Kirsty Jones.

"Patients who are in hospital are at risk of developing more infections, and perhaps deconditioning, so that their mobility isn't as good as it was," said Ms Jones.

"So that's a focus of ours to make sure patients are enabled to do things for themselves."

In 2021, Addenbrooke's, which is run by Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH), started work to provide 116 new beds.

"Across the NHS we would say we need many more people," said Eilish Midlane, chief executive officer for Royal Papworth.

"We have people who have left the profession and we're keen to get people in.

"Of course we need to train those people, so it isn't just around the numbers.

"There's a lead time until people are able to effectively deliver good quality healthcare which is what we want."

In December, Addenbrooke's saw a surge of patients - an extra 40 a day - coming through the doors of A&E.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]