FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015

New model of care in Aberfeldy and communities

NHS Tayside and Perth & Kinross Council are introducing a new model of integrated community and inpatient care in Aberfeldy and the surrounding areas ahead of the transition to the combined health and social care facility at Dalweem Residential Care Home.

The people of Aberfeldy and its surrounding communities have been working closely with NHS Tayside, Perth & Kinross Council and the independent and voluntary sectors to explore how sustainable health and social care services will be delivered which will meet the needs of the community now and in the future.

Local residents considered options for the future provision of hospital and residential care in the area and the community supported the option to redevelop the vacant wing in Dalweem Residential Care Home to include healthcare, respite and rehabilitation facilities. Work is now under way to transform Dalweem which is due to be completed in Spring 2016.

By the time the new Dalweem facility is open the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership will be fully operational, overseeing integrated adult health and social care services across the area.

As part of the transition to the new local model of care both at Dalweem and in the communities around Aberfeldy, NHS Tayside is introducing new services. These include the introduction of a community geriatrician service with a new clinic at the community hospital and an Enhanced Community Support (ECS) model of care for the Northwest Perthshire area to support people in the community and at home.

Working with the Aberfeldy GPs, the ECS service will be established in the next few weeks and will see local doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff such as physiotherapists and pharmacists work with social care and voluntary sector staff to provide support that brings tailor-made packages of care for individual patients and their families.

It will mean elderly people in the community can be better supported as the multi-disciplinary team can anticipate problems at a much earlier stage, offer comprehensive assessment and provide support early enough to maintain people at home, where possible. This service is already working well in other parts of Perth & Kinross and Angus where it has been very much welcomed by patients, their carers and the teams who work with them.

In the meantime, NHS Tayside doctors, senior nurses and managers have been in discussions with Aberfeldy GPs who provide the medical cover for the hospital and, it has been agreed that there will be no admissions in to the five-bed Breadalbane Ward at Aberfeldy Community Hospital at this time as there are ongoing challenges in recruiting appropriately trained nursing staff to hospital vacancies. The current situation at the ward is that there are no patients in the ward and no-one is waiting to be admitted. Nursing staff from the hospital will be reallocated in line with clinical need and care requirements of patients in Northwest Perthshire.

There is only one other change to services at Aberfeldy Community Hospital which will see the walk-in minor ailment service move from the hospital to the GP surgery. The GPs in the town already see and treat minor ailments every day in their practice and the transfer means all minor ailments will now be treated at the practice by the local doctors.

There are no changes to other services delivered from Aberfeldy Community Hospital. All services including outpatient clinics, x-ray clinics and kitchen facilities will be running as normal.

NHS Tayside Medical Director Dr Andrew Russell, said, “We are absolutely committed to providing high-quality inpatient and community-based health services which are tailored to the particular needs of the population in the communities of Northwest Perthshire.

“Now is the right time to start introducing the new models of care into Aberfeldy and its surrounding communities as we transition services to the new inpatient facility in Dalweem. The new Enhanced Community Support service being established now will see many, many local people supported and cared for by the right health and social care professionals in their own home. The Aberfeldy GPs are absolutely vital to this new service and we are developing this new way of delivering local services in partnership with them, working closely to make sure the health needs of the local population are to the fore.

“Patients and their families tell us that they want to be supported to live in their own homes and not have a hospital admission. Of course, they also want to know that there is a hospital bed there if they need it. I can reassure the community that any patient who requires to be admitted as an inpatient at this time will be cared for in the most appropriate facility, such as Pitlochry Community Hospital.

“The new Dalweem facility, which the community have developed in partnership with NHS Tayside and Perth & Kinross Council, will be opening in Spring 2016 and will be a fantastic addition to provide flexible care in the Aberfeldy area. The community has been engaged in every step of the process as we make the transfer to Dalweem and their involvement has been invaluable.

“We are committed to keep working with the community and we are already planning community events for next year to share progress on our new models of care and celebrate the opening of the new facility at Dalweem.”

The Aberfeldy and Kinloch Rannoch Medical Practice has stated its continued support of inpatient beds in Aberfeldy. They said, “We have been assured the current closure of inpatient services of the hospital is temporary, and due to nursing staff shortages.  It is not due to a lack of need for this resource. 

“Recruitment of local nursing staff is to be a priority. There is, and will be, a continued demand for local inpatient care in Aberfeldy. An ageing population will require inpatient facilities to supplement any new initiatives of care and treatment at home.”

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 424138 communications.tayside@nhs.net