Introduction
We have continued to keep you informed about our Securing Our Sustainable Future programme, which sets out how we are tackling financial pressures while protecting safe, high-quality patient care in line with the ambitions and asks within the NHS 10 Year Plan – Fit for the Future. The direction of travel and the principles for sustainability are not new; through our sustainability programme, we have formalised them and built on ongoing work and long-standing conversations with system partners about care closer to home and reducing health inequalities.
People in Gateshead are living longer, often with more complex and long-term health conditions. To meet the needs of individuals and communities, Gateshead Health is shifting the focus of care from hospital to community settings, supporting people to live healthier, more independent lives. This is about more than relocating services – it’s about creating a joined-up system where teams work closely within neighbourhoods to provide coordinated, out-of-hospital care that reflects individual and community needs. Right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Specifically, Gateshead Health is making clinically led changes to how we care for older patients, focused on improving outcomes, supporting independence and delivering care in the right place at the right time. As noted above, this work is aligned with the NHS 10-Year Plan, which sets out a national direction of moving more care from hospitals into communities, making better use of technology in health and care, and focusing on preventing illness, not just treating it.
Why change is needed
We remain committed to being the local provider of hospital and community health services for the people of Gateshead. The hospital can be the right place for treatment, but it is not always best for older people to receive care. Many patients tell us they want to stay independent, recover at home and avoid unnecessary admissions. With the right support, many individuals who are currently in the hospital could be more effectively cared for at home or in their community.
On average, patients in Gateshead stay in the hospital for 9 days compared to a national average of 6.7 days. Reducing this gap by even two days will make a real difference to flow through the hospital and help ensure beds are available for those who need them most.
Older people in particular face several risks from longer hospital stays. Evidence shows that in hospitals, patients can spend 83% of their stay in bed and 12% of their day in a chair, with 10 days in hospital the equivalent to 10 years of physical ageing*, increasing the risk of losing mobility and independence. Recovering at home helps people avoid this and remain active for longer.
Care closer to home offers important benefits, including:
- Recovery in familiar surroundings, closer to family and carers
- Reduced stress compared to the hospital environment
- Lower risk of hospital-acquired infections
- Better mobility and physical activity at home and subsequent reduced risk of deconditioning
- Higher patient satisfaction and more control over care
- Improved coordination between health and social care teams
- Earlier discharge and reduced risk of long-term care
- Less pressure on hospitals and emergency services
- More efficient use of NHS resources
Why ward 23 is closing
Ward 23 is one of several wards for older patients at the QE Hospital. Clinical modelling shows that not all wards are required to deliver safe, effective care. While we recognise the exceptional care it has provided, the dedication of its staff, a hospital model does not reflect modern best practice in frailty care.
Patients will continue to receive the care they need, but in more flexible and personalised ways. This may be on another of our hospital wards or in an alternative setting. Evidence shows people recover faster and maintain independence for longer when supported at home. Closing Ward 23 allows us to expand community services and focus resources where they can make the most difference. Services such as the Frailty Virtual Ward, Therapies Virtual Ward, criteria-led discharge and the expanded Acute Frailty Team are in place to support patients safely outside hospital. This approach is in line with the NHS 10-Year Plan and national planning guidance, which set out the goal of preventing avoidable admissions and supporting more people to live well at home.
Anyone who needs hospital admission will, of course, continue to be admitted and cared for in the right setting.
Listening to feedback
Through the internal engagement staff, patients and partners raised concerns about dementia care, infection control and overall bed capacity. These have been taken seriously and addressed through targeted actions.
Key actions
To ensure safe, high-quality care continues, the Trust is:
- Expanding the Acute Frailty Service to seven days a week, with consultant input
- Growing the Frailty Virtual Ward, supporting people at home
- Strengthening discharge planning, including weekend processes
- Increasing Admiral Nurse capacity and offering additional dementia training
- Improving dementia-friendly environments across other wards
- Taking part in the Enhanced Therapeutic Observations and Care Programme
- Working closely with social care and community teams to reduce discharge delays
Our clinical teams have recommended that this is the right thing for patients, ensuring that those on acute wards have acute physical needs, while people with long-term conditions are cared for in more appropriate environments.
We will continue to keep you updated as the programme develops.
Ward 23 has now closed as part of our Securing Our Sustainable Future programme, with care reshaped to help more people remain at home or in community settings, supported by skilled NHS staff.
Our priority remains delivering high-quality, safe and sustainable care for the people of Gateshead.
* ‘Making Movement Count’ – Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Rethinking Hospital-Associated Deconditioning: Proposed Paradigm Shift – PMC