Sandwell’s social care boss has praised the round-the-clock efforts of health and council staff working hard to keep hospital beds available during the busy winter period. Councillor Ann Shackleton visited Sandwell Hospital in West Bromwich to see first-hand how older people are cared for, assessed and discharged. She toured the Older Persons’ Assessment Unit and also met the Joint Discharge Team, speaking to health and social care workers as well as a consultant and a patient.

Councillor Shackleton, cabinet member for social care, said: “We’re all aware there’s high demand for hospital beds, especially at this time of year. I want to thank everyone who’s working so hard in our hospitals. “It was a real eye-opener for me to learn about the sheer scale of the operation to keep our hospitals running smoothly and beds available for those who need them most.

“I was very impressed by the team approach we have in Sandwell. Health and social workers work very closely together to assess patients’ individual needs, support their treatment and help them home or into suitable care as soon as they are ready.

“Together with our health partners, we monitor the situation daily and have extra staff on hand to help if needed. We have plans in place with Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to provide extra spaces in care if there’s greater demand than expected.”

Rachel Barlow, chief operating officer for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Like at many local hospitals, our staff are working incredibly hard both in the community and in our emergency departments and wards. Demand and acuity remain high, with significant pressures in A&E. There is a pressing need for improved joint working with primary care and a concerted approach across all agencies to care home provision. It is pleasing that the latter is a focus for the Sandwell Health and Wellbeing Board.

“Both timely treatment in emergency departments and discharge without delay remain priorities for the Trust and wider health and social care system, but this requires constant, exceptional effort. We pay tribute to staff who are working hard to manage the situation. It is regrettable that a proportion of this care is being provided by temporary staff, at significant expense, and we are working to address that in the short and longer term."

The Older Persons’ Assessment Unit was recently set up at Sandwell Hospital to provide faster and more comprehensive frailty assessments in a separate unit away from a ‘mainstream’ acute medical setting.

This multi-professional team includes doctors, therapists, nurses and social workers who are able to rapidly assess patients, support their treatment and discharge them home or into suitable care.

The Joint Discharge Team, which is based at the hospital, includes both adult social care and acute health staff. They support timely and safe discharges from acute hospitals, working with patients – and their families – to make sure their medical and care needs are met.