New adviser scheme to help concerned patients

A new scheme is to be launched at a hospital trust that aims to improve the experience of patients.

The team of advisers will be available to speak to any older hospital patient at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to help alleviate worries they might have - whether about their treatment or the logistics of being away from home.

The idea behind the scheme, called the Hospital And Home project, is that if patients feel less concerned, they can focus everything on getting better and getting back home sooner.

The project could extend to other hospitals

The project is the result of a partnership between the Age UK Norfolk charity, Age UK Norwich and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It is likely it will be extended to other hospitals if proven to be successful.

The advisers involved will visit the hospital three times a week from 10 September, giving support to patients at the bedside or in a private room on the premises if preferred.

'We hope that the combination of acute hospital expertise with charitable sector knowledge of working in the community will prove a powerful force in improving the experience of older people in acute hospitals and facilitating their prompt return to their communities and homes,' Age UK Norfolk chairman Dr Peter Forster said.

'If this project is effective we would hope to extend the work to include other acute hospitals in Norfolk as well as the extensive network of community hospitals operated by the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust.'

Visiting family members and carers will benefit

Advisers will be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays every week, for four hours from 2pm.

But it is not just older patients who can benefit from the new service - it will also be open to visiting family members and carers who want information and advice on how to support the patients.

Speaking about the project, the chief executive of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Anna Dugdale, said: 'We believe that working together in this way, focusing on the needs of individual patients and their families, is a great example of how charitable organisations can provide much needed support to complement NHS services.'

Copyright Press Association 2013