Future development of our local community hospitals
In the initial phases of the pandemic response, our hospitals in Evesham, Bromsgrove, Tenbury, Malvern, Worcester and Wyre Forest transformed in preparation for the arrival of COVID positive patients too unwell to be cared for in the community, and swiftly established themselves as compassionate environments to nurture the recovery of those discharged from Acute care.
Despite the new challenges of COVID-19, our staff continued to provide outstanding care for those experiencing non-covid related illnesses, adapting and innovating to ensure patients felt safe and comfortable in hospital, regardless of the anxieties surrounding the pandemic. We adapted our sites and all our practices to ensure our patients and staff were protected as much as possible from this highly transmissible infection.
As the Associate Director of Countywide Community Services, I find myself in awe of the dedication and hard work of the staff working within our hospitals. Putting patients needs ahead of their own, they have demonstrated their resilience, flexibility and strength, adjusting to new ways of working within every part of each hospital, on the wards, in outpatients clinics and in our Minor Injury Units.
15 months after receiving our first COVID patients, we continue to carefully balance the delivery of services with the continued risk that COVID-19 poses. We are committed to providing the best care for our patients, and their safety, together with that of our staff remains at the forefront of our restoration and recovery plans.
The future development of our community hospitals remains a priority for the Trust, and we thank everybody who has previously contributed to the development forums and stakeholder events. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many changes within our community hospitals, and we are keen to maintain the momentum of the development programme as we emerge from the COVID response. We will provide further updates on progress in due course, and restart our stakeholder engagement as soon as we are able to do so safely.
Jan Austin
Associate Director of Countywide Community Services