Livewell Southwest and Plymouth City Council have been working with the New Continental Hotel in Millbay which will be temporarily used as an extra care facility for people who are ready to leave hospital but need extra care support before they can get home.
This means vital hospital beds can be freed up to support those who really need them.
Hotel staff will be supporting Livewell with the practical side of the operation including providing catering and cleaning services, working alongside dedicated healthcare staff who have been recruited and trained by Livewell.
Volunteers recruited by Plymouth City Council who have given up their time to support others will be a part of the team.
Hotel staff will not be carrying out personal care with people and there are strict criteria around who is eligible for a bed.
People with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or those displaying symptoms will not be suitable for the Extra Care Hotel and will be cared for in more appropriate settings.
Geoff Baines, Director of Safety and Quality at Livewell Southwest said: “We are working closely with Plymouth City Council and other organisations to ensure that we can support people in whatever way we can.
“Importantly we want to ensure that we can relieve some of the pressure on our hospitals by providing somewhere safe for people to move to from hospital when they are well enough but when they are not quite ready to go home without support.”
The hotel will be reopened and ready to take people if needed, from tomorrow (Wednesday, 15 April).
Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care at Plymouth City Council, said: “It’s amazing how many people have come together across the system to help re-purpose this hotel and relieve some of the pressure placed on the hospital, to support our residents in the city and ensure that there are places for people to move to from hospital the moment they are well enough.”
Bobbie Hajiyianni, director at the New Continental Hotel said: “We’re happy to be able to use our hospitality services in this supportive role to the wider community and local NHS. We look forward to the day where we can all leave these challenging times behind and we are able to re-open our doors to the public.”
