District councillors visit Horsham Hospital

Staff from Sussex Community NHS Trust (SCT) hosted a visit by Horsham district councillors to meet its community, nursing and therapy teams based at Horsham Hospital.
Councillor Frances Haigh; Judy Dronfield, Clinical Lead, Minor Injuries Unit; Councillor David Skipp (photo submitted).Councillor Frances Haigh; Judy Dronfield, Clinical Lead, Minor Injuries Unit; Councillor David Skipp (photo submitted).
Councillor Frances Haigh; Judy Dronfield, Clinical Lead, Minor Injuries Unit; Councillor David Skipp (photo submitted).

Members of Horsham District Council’s Health and Provision Working Group met staff who help support people to live healthy, independent lives in their own homes or in the hospital’s inpatient wards.

Councillors Frances Haigh, Liz Kitchen, Kate Rowbottom, and David Skipp met with the teams to learn more about their work to support people in the community with long term conditions, including young children and their families, and the frail elderly.

They saw the:

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- Admission Avoidance Team who provide rapid assessment and care to prevent people who are unwell being admitted to hospital.

- Intermediate Care Team who provide short-term (up to six weeks) support to help people recover from illness or injury.

- Time to Talk service who provide talking therapy treatments to help with stress, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, low self-esteem and relationship difficulties.

- Horizon Unit, a 38-bedded unit for people who need short-term rehabilitation or palliative care. The unit is seeing more elderly people with multiple, complex conditions including dementia.

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- Minor Injuries Unit who assist and treat minor injuries including fractures and cuts for both adults and children. The unit is staffed by emergency nurse practitioners and other nursing staff. X-ray facilities are available on site.

Mrs Haigh later tweeted: “Did you know 90 per cent of NHS services are provided in the community by dedicated staff such as SCT? Unsung heroes keeping us all well.”

Dee Suter, SCT senior locality nurse, said: “Our teams work with people to help avoid deterioration in their health, to keep them in their home where they prefer to be and to help them to get back home following a period of hospital stay with appropriate care and support.”