Livewell Southwest and Plymouth City Council are working together again to open a new care facility for people who are ready to leave hospital but need extra care support before they can get home during the second wave of the COVID pandemic.
The care hotel will be run at the Hearts Together Hospital Hotel near Derriford Hospital, which traditionally provides patients, carers, relatives and healthcare professionals with a safe and comfortable place to stay.
It follows on from a similar effort between last April and July when the New Continental Hotel in Millbay was temporarily used as a care facility, which meant vital hospital beds were freed up to support those who really needed them.
Care for people staying at the hotel will be provided by healthcare staff who have been recruited and trained by Livewell, the social enterprise proving integrated health and social care services in Plymouth.
Livewell is recruiting for health and social care assistant roles to help staff the hotel, you can find out more on NHS Jobs here.
Geoff Baines, Director of Safety and Quality at Livewell Southwest said: “We are really proud to once again work with Plymouth City Council to ensure we can support people during this second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Thank you to Hearts Together for your support and for the use of your hotel, which will help us to 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 is due to open today, (Monday, 4 January).
Liz Harding, CEO of Hearts Together, added: “For almost 20 years our charity has been providing accommodation for patients, carers and families when they need us most. It gives us great pleasure to welcome Livewell and Plymouth City Council to work alongside us in support of patients during these challenging times.”
Councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care at Plymouth City Council said:
“With the rise in COVID cases and the looming winter pressures, I’m beyond proud of all Plymouth’s family of services and providers who are pulling out all the stops to ease the pressure on our hospital and are getting ahead of the game.
“It’s incredible how quickly staff across all these organisations have worked together to help patients who just need that little extra support before they go home.
“It’s also really great to be able help Plymouth charity – Hearts Together – in the process.”
