Townlands Memorial Hospital is officially open

Hospital officially opened by Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Tim Stevenson OBE.

Townlands Memorial Hospital is officially open

The hospital is home to a wealth of NHS services operated by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Officially opening the hospital the Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Tim Stevenson OBE thanked all those involved on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.

He said: “The facility is extraordinarily impressive.”

“On behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, I would like to say well done to everybody. This is a facility which will clearly improve the lot, not only of the people of Henley, but covering a very much broader area than just that, pulling in patients from a wide area and giving them a much better holistic service than would have been available to them before.”

“Especially impressive is the opportunity for them not to have a long spell in bed in hospital, but getting them back to their own homes which is where they want to be.”

Head of Urgent and Ambulatory Care at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Christine Hewitt said: “Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services at Townlands.”

“The new more spacious modern hospital has enabled the trust to continue to provide high standard services to an average of about 2,600 people a month.”

“As well as the district nursing service, other community health services are also now firmly re-established within the new Townlands hospital building with a variety of clinics running daily for podiatry, musculoskeletal physiotherapy and language therapy and dietetic services.”

The Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) and Rapid Access Care Unit (RACU) at Henley offer people enable people to get the care they need closer to home quickly and simply, without a trip to an A&E or an inpatient hospital stay.

Ms Hewitt said: “The MIU is a purpose built facility with provision for four patients at any one time, X-ray facilities and a plaster room with two additional consultation rooms providing additional privacy. Since April 2016 98 per cent have been seen and treated within the four hour target.”

“The unit allows the out-of-hours GP service to be provided within this facility, thus offering additional support and expertise at weekends.”

The opening of the RACU in January means care is now available closer to home, especially for adults aged  65 and over, so they can continue to enjoy living independently and spend time with family and friends. For those who need a little more time with the RACU, there are also eight beds at the neighbouring Chilterns Court Care Centre, operated by the Orders of St John Care Trust.

Royal Berkshire and Oxford Health collaborate to operate a multi-disciplinary team of specialised health and social care professionals such as nurses, community nurses, physiotherapy and occupational therapy practitioners, social care coordinators, hospital and mental health staff who are all trained in dementia awareness.

Ms Hewitt continued: “Many of the patients have had complex needs and have been able to avoid a disruptive inpatient stay in an acute hospital by returning to the RACU for follow up treatment.”

“A number of patients have been safely supported by the service having requested not to attend the acute hospital as a preference.”

“The number of patients we are seeing is continuing to grow as referrals increase and we’ve supported patients with conditions including heart failure, pneumonia and bronchitis, cellulitis/leg ulcers, unitary tract infections, sepsis, palliative car and support, postural hypotension and falls, anxiety and stress-related presentations, chronic obstructive airway disease, diabetes, arthritis, chronic kidney disease and anaemia.”

Phyllis Davis, 96, recently attended the RACU and was full of praise for the compassionate staff and service.

She said: “I think it’s wonderful, yes I do. It’s really very, very good. The staff are all very thoughtful there and very kind. They do everything very very well. I was quite happy to go there.”

“It’s much better than going to the acute hospital, far easier and more comfortable. It was lovely to be able to come home. There’s nothing quite like your own bed. I can’t say enough about it.”

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Published: 29 March 2017