This engagement exercise closed on Wednesday 7 December 2022.
The engagement report is available here.
If you wish to contact the engagement team, please use the email or phone number at the bottom of this page.
Older Adults Mental Health Hospital at Home Service in Worcestershire – Have your say!
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) are inviting people to share their views on the move of the older people’s mental health service from the bedded Athelon Ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, to the Hospital at Home service, where people are cared for within their homes. The service is provided and managed by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.
Background – In April 2020, the decision was made by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust to temporarily close the 14 bedded Athelon Ward in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to support the national efforts to keep older people out of hospital as much as possible. This resulted in the temporary closure of Athelon Ward in Worcester and reallocation of this budget to pilot the Hospital at Home service. The Hospital at Home service fully started in August 2020.
Both the Hospital at Home service and the Athelon Ward provided mental health care for people aged over 65 years, registered with a GP in Worcestershire, with severe and continuing mental ill health or disorders, which includes conditions such as psychosis, bipolar affective disorder, severe depression and personality disorder.
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust originally engaged with the public and staff about these changes in Autumn 2021 (https://wwwh.hacw.nhs.uk/hospital-at-home). As the feedback was gathered during the height of the pandemic, we think it is important to revisit these changes to measure if the public still feel the same way and to establish if there are any opportunities or challenges that have been missed.
Get involved - We have outlined the changes which have taken place in our paper and summarised this in the narrated presentation (available soon to replace the slide show). We recommend that you read, watch or listen to this information, before sharing your views. If you would like this information in another language or format please contact hw.
How to have your say and share your views:
- Survey - After considering the paper and/or slides please do tell us your views by using the survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/OlderAdultMentalHealthServices (the survey is now closed)
- Email - If you would like to email us, please do on hw.
engage @nhs.net - Telephone – You can call 0330 053 4356 and ask for the engagement team.
Deadline – Please complete the survey and/or share your views by 9am, Wednesday 7 December 2022.
