Blocked beds?

Aveline the use of the old cottage hospitals and convalescent homes has so often been proposed I can only think that so-called “modern” nursing practices have deemed them unsuitable.
It makes sense to me now, it made sense then, but I fear it’s a forlorn hope.

Don't know why they did that in the first place. We do indeed need the old convalescent hospitals back again.

There is absolutely nowhere available for convalescent purposes as far as I can see in Britain. Years back there were even convalescent places (not hospitals per se - but veering in that direction) run by at least one of the major trade unions - and they don't seem to exist any longer either.

I was checking around the other day for a private naturecare place that used to exist - with a variety of complementary therapies - and even that doesn't exist any longer.

There's just a big fat nothing as far as I can see.

Absolutely no acknowledgment by our society at all these days that people might basically be better - but need somewhere on the spectrum between a hospital and "life as per normal" for a week or two whilst their health fully recovers.

In our area, we have two ‘main’ hospitals, not big city ones, but reasonably sized.

When my next door neighbour (in his 90’s) fell at home and broke his leg, he was in one of those for a few days, then moved into a smaller hospital in a nearby town. Far too big to be classed as a cottage hospital, but much more suitable for a couple of weeks recuperation, physio etc.

Sadly, he never got walking again, and has been in a nursing home ever since.

But it seems there are a few of these smaller places where people are sent to recover from surgery and suchlike.

A good idea.

my small town does not even have a district nurse

We have some of these types of facilities where I live in Canada. They're typically subacute units or restorative care units. We also have transition units, typically for people who are waiting for placement in a care home, to get them out of acute care beds.

Subacute and restorative care units are usually located in care homes or rehab facilities, while transition units may be in a regular hospital.

We had a lovely hospital in our town A beautiful building it was quite big 3 or 4 floors and out buildings for X-rays and other treatments there was a mortuary it was a proper hospital Then a lot of years ago they build a big ( then modern ) new hospital, massive about 6 miles out of town and used the smaller hospital for exactly what you are suggesting a recuperation hospital mainly for the elderly
Then some bright spark closed it down and it was left to go to rack and ruin, some businessman bought it to make flats housing etc that was about 12 years ago it still stands empty and ruined, a shadow, a blot on the landscape.
And the state of the art new, out of town hospital is now needing a lot of repairs re the building and also many additions and still the town hospital weeps its way into the ground empty and so sad

One nearish one to me got closed fairly recently.
Old building.
"Uneconomical"to repair.

Locally patients can eventually be offered 6 weeks in a local care home. However, patients that I spoke to were worried that they might just be dumped there with no choice and struggle to pay when the time ran out. That must cost local authorities a fortune too.

As the population ages, this issue will grow.

The government rattled up the massive COVID hospitals quick enough. If they had the money for those surely the money could be found for convalescent/interim hospitals.

And Arlene, what has happened to those hospitals? Are they still standing empty? They were never used were they or have they been pulled down? It’s all been an absolute shambles.

Were some repurposed for joint replacement units? I don't know.

I don’t think convalescent hospitals would solve the problem, as the fundamental issue is a lack of acute beds to cope with the volume of emergency and urgent admissions. Even if everybody who no longer needed acute care was moved to a bed elsewhere in the NHS acute hospitals would not cope with the peaks of activity. We already have community hospitals, which offer more services than convalescent units did, which are filled with complex discharge cases, and that is an issue of course, but it’s not the fundamental one, as there are not enough patients in acute hospitals for whom they are appropriate, given the average person is only in need of hospital care for a few days.

Aveline

Were some repurposed for joint replacement units? I don't know.

Ours in Devon is a shining example.
200 patients a day for diagnostics
80 patients a day for eye treatment
10 a day for orthopaedic procedures

It can work, and staff have been found from somewhere. Ours wouldn't have worked as a convalescent home though due to the fabric of the building.

Calendargirl

In our area, we have two ‘main’ hospitals, not big city ones, but reasonably sized.

When my next door neighbour (in his 90’s) fell at home and broke his leg, he was in one of those for a few days, then moved into a smaller hospital in a nearby town. Far too big to be classed as a cottage hospital, but much more suitable for a couple of weeks recuperation, physio etc.

Sadly, he never got walking again, and has been in a nursing home ever since.

But it seems there are a few of these smaller places where people are sent to recover from surgery and suchlike.

A good idea.

One in my town as well. It also houses some out patient departments, I've had physio there.

But most of the Nightingale units couldn't be adequately staffed and remained empty. Another BoJo fiasco.

Grantanow - Exactly. Hospitals/ Convalescent Homes, are more than just beds - they need properly trained staff. Do not think ANY of the so-called Nightingale Units were ever used as there just were no staff for them.
Same with so-called bed blockers. Many patients waiting for firstly an assessment of their own homes for them to be able to return there, with (maybe) some adaptations- cannot be carried out due to nowhere enough qualified people to carry these assessments out. Or for those patients to require full-time care out of hospital in some sort of recovery unit, However, fewer and fewer of these still under NHS provision, so money has to be spent on using private ones, making large profits for some companies and individuals, but taking it from NHS/local authorities.

The continual and increasing privatisation of the NHS which has been going on over the past 12-15 years has resulted in the dreadful situation we now have - and is continuing and will get worse.

Let's not forget that Tony Blair was very keen for private health care to be utilised.

Tony Blair's Labour government significantly increased private sector involvement in the NHS to cut waiting lists and boost capacity, introducing Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) and fostering competition, a policy he continues to advocate for today to modernize the service, arguing it's vital for the NHS's survival against challenges like aging populations and stretched finances, despite past controversies and critiques of increasing privatization.

So not just under Conservatives

Aveline

The government rattled up the massive COVID hospitals quick enough. If they had the money for those surely the money could be found for convalescent/interim hospitals.

I imagine the problem would be staffing them.

Yes staffing might be a problem but they wouldn't need acute hospital staff. Care staff managed by trained nurses would be good.
Just read that on in nine hospital beds are currently blocked. Freeing up those would allow places for acutely ill patients. Where are they now? Waiting in pain on long lists?

Aveline

Locally patients can eventually be offered 6 weeks in a local care home. However, patients that I spoke to were worried that they might just be dumped there with no choice and struggle to pay when the time ran out. That must cost local authorities a fortune too.

I would worry about maybe getting conned in that position if I were them - a. That it might be awful standard (I've seen inside some awful ones over the years when visiting) b. They might be trying to con me into moving there permanently ("thin end of the wedge" tactics).

Aveline

Locally patients can eventually be offered 6 weeks in a local care home. However, patients that I spoke to were worried that they might just be dumped there with no choice and struggle to pay when the time ran out. That must cost local authorities a fortune too.

My cousin needed three weeks in a care home after a fall. She was assured it would be funded by the NHS but got an enormous bill afterwards which she had to pay.

Convalescent homes are an excellent idea.
Here the local hub hospital has a couple of wards which help to serve that purpose but the provision is far from adequate. If people need longer convalescence or therapy they are sent to care homes, often at their own expense.

That's shocking Allira. The patients I used to see were worried about where they might be put. I used to Google the various homes to show them pictures of the one they were to go to. SW assured them that there would be nothing to pay for 6 weeks. How awful to believe that and it wasn't true. It's so hard for these vulnerable people to advocate for themselves in these circumstances.

We have a non general hospital which is of moderate size, larger than say a cottage hospital, where I went for physio after breaking my arm. I did ask my physiotherapist whether they had wards, a few apparently and for post operative rehabilitation. I agree with you Aveline a good provision.

My late mother paid for rehabilitation for a few weeks after a hip replacement, I don't know how much it cost, but she said the care she had there was excellent and she was happy to stump up for it.