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Help for home alone elderly patients
Elderly patients, who have little or no help at home when they are discharged from hospital, will be supported when a new scheme launches in Bristol in the New Year.
The Home from Hospital service, run by the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol), will help patients prepare to go home and offer a six-week service to help them get back to normal.
Laura Goringe, RVS Manager for Bristol, said the scheme “gives older people confidence, especially when many are feeling quite worried about going home alone”.
is needed now More than ever
The charity claims that the service has had a significant impact on re-admission rates in other parts of the country. A similar scheme was set up in Leicestershire in 2012, since then the re-admission rate for those who use the service is half the national average
The scheme will run out of the Bristol Royal Infirmary and South Bristol Community Hospital from the beginning of January and will be funded by the RVS volunteer shops at hospitals across Bristol.
The charity is now launching a recruitment drive for volunteers to provide patients with a lift home, helping to prepare their homes by turning on the heating, making hot drinks, collecting prescriptions and helping them attend follow-up medical appointments.
Dr Rachel Bradley, Consultant in Care of the Elderly at UH Bristol, said volunteers can play a vital role helping elderly people “to get better sooner and support them at home” especially “when many feel vulnerable and anxious”.
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