Community care in Bognor fit for the 21st century

New offices for the 40-plus individuals have been opened at the town's war memorial hospital.

The completely-refurbished Colley House is the base for the 'virtual ward' work of the community nursing team caring for people nearer to their homes as well as the community rehabilitation team. Falls prevention workers will also be based there.

The community nurses see some 33,000 patients a year. Bringing the members of staff together, rather than being housed separately around the site, will allow greater links between them to boost the care they can offer.

West Sussex NHS Primary Care Trust chief executive John Wilderspin

performed the brief ceremony to open Colley House at the Shripney Road hospital.

The ground floor of the building on the south of the site had become used as a dumping ground for unwanted equipment. The first floor comprised old-fashioned offices.

A few months of work later '“ along with 50,000 '“ and a building fit for the 21st century has emerged.

It has been named after the hospital's first matron, Miss EM Colley, who ruled its wards for 30 years from 1918. Mr Wilderspin said: "I am sure Miss Colley, who spent a large amount of time providing care

at the hospital, would be very proud to see her name given to a building which will be used to provide care for many years to come.

"It's really nice to have Colley House open. It will allow members of staff to work together better."

Kate Woods, head of the hospital's physiotherapy team, said: "It will be good for the staff to link up with each other. We are often seeing the same patients for slightly different reasons."

Sarah Grant, the trust's community services manager, said: "We know people like to receive treatment near their home whenever possible rather than in a hospital.

"So the trust is keen to support community teams to provide the best possible care."

Future's bright for Bognor hospital

Top health service boss John Wilderspin has said the future's

bright for Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital.

Mr Wilderspin toured the facilities at the hospital for the first time last Thursday to view the facilities where tens of thousands of patients a year are treated.

He said it was a good example of a community hospital. "This hospital

is an important part of the NHS. It's a hospital for the future.

"It will adapt over the years because health practices change and people's needs change.

"The hospital does exactly what it says in the name '“ it's a hospital for the community.

"It can provide a large variety of different services for people, whether it's a base for nurses to provide care for people in their homes or GP surgeries, or people who need an inpatient stay.

"I would describe it as a halfway house between bigger hospitals and services in the community," he stated.

"As the number of elderly people grow, there are different conditions that arise and we need to be flexible about the services we provide here.

"But, fundamentally, it's about treating people within their community. Some of those are about where people have gone into a bigger hospital and need some long-term rehabilitation closer to home.

"Some of it will be about people who need a bit of extra care, which can't be provided at home, and to save them going into a bigger hospital, with services such as a gym and a hydrotherapy pool here."

The hospital is the second-largest of those run by Western Sussex NHS Primary Care Trust headed by Mr Wilderspin.

It is also the home of the dialysis service and the chronic pain service for patients in the Bognor and Chichester areas as well as having two wards '“ with 58 beds '“ and a host of other departments such as rheumatology and physiotherapy.

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