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University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust is transferring patients to the Village Hotel in Bournemouth to free up hospital beds.
It revealed as “severe” demand across hospital services continues the trust is moving up to 16 patients who are medically ready to leave but need support in the short term before returning home.
The foundation said this is a temporary measure to help “ease” the flow of patients throughout the hospitals which will help with waiting times in the hospitals’ emergency departments and with the ongoing recovery of elective surgery following the covid-19 pandemic.
The care of the patients in the Village Hotel will be provided by Abicare, a CQC registered care provider, which is already running similar services in four hotels in England.
Mark Mould, chief operating officer of UHD, said: “Our hospitals are the best place for acute care for our patients. However, when patients are medically ready to leave, we should do all we can to support this to help free up the space for new patients and ease the pressure on our staff. This is also better for the ongoing recovery of our patients.
“Working with our partners, we are very pleased to offer this temporary solution as we know the Village Hotel is a much better environment for the patients who are ready to leave our hospitals and even though their ongoing care demands are low, they will be very well looked after by Abicare.”
