HRH Prince Charles announced the winners of the Award at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre today 30 July 2002. Marianne Lambourne, from Poole Primary Care Trust and representatives of all the Poole Intermediate Care Services were present at the award ceremony.

Intermediate Care was described in the National Service Framework for Older People as "integrated services that promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions, support timely discharge and maximise independent living."

In Poole, Intermediate Care comprises: The Woodlands Elderly Resource Team Rapid Response Home Care Service Home from Hospital Home Care Service Rehabilitation Home Care Service

These services all work very closely together to provide care that is focussed on patients’ individual needs.

The ‘extras’ that impressed the judges for this award are;

• Collaborative learning sets
  
• Carer involvement
  
• Multi-agency working parties
  
• Patient advocacy
  
• Use of a Single Assessment

Marianne Lambourne, Intermediate Care Manager, said “We are extremely proud to win this prestigious award. The front line staff who work so tirelessly to provide these services need to be recognised for their dedication and commitment. If it wasn’t for the staff from this wide range of different services working so well together for older people they wouldn’t be nearly so successful. The staff based at the Woodlands Elderly Resource Team have worked particularly hard together to make sure older people in Poole receive tailor-made therapy and care that recognises their individual needs. I am very proud of the work they have undertaken and wish to thank them for their effort in giving people much more independence than could have previously been expected.”

Dr Matt Thomas, Consultant Physician in Medicine for the Elderly at Poole Hospital said: "We are proud to have helped Poole PCT to develop their Intermediate Care services. With their help we are able to offer the most appropriate care for elderly people locally. Before the Woodlands Elderly Resource Team was developed, patients were sometimes admitted to hospital unnecessarily or kept longer in hospital because there were fewer alternatives. Now elderly people in Poole can receive the most appropriate care for their needs and can often return to their homes more quickly."

Angie Smith, Principal Officer from Poole Social Services said “We have been developing these services over the last few years and are proud to be leading the way nationally, particularly with the Rehabilitation Home Care Service which allows older people to receive intensive rehabilitation in their own homes and has produced some quite remarkable results. The Rapid Response Home Care Service and Home from Hospital Home Care Service were both available in Poole before many other areas in the country. We are very grateful for the hard work of the staff that provide these services on our behalf from SCA Community Care Services and Care UK and very proud of what they have achieved.”

The Woodlands Elderly Resource Team is a team of health and social care professionals who provide specialist advice, support and intervention to older people in their own homes. The team includes Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Rehabilitation Assistants, Dietician, Speech and Language Therapist, Pharmacist, Patient Advocacy and Specialist Nursing.

The team offers crisis intervention to prevent admission to hospital, community rehabilitation, enhanced discharge to help older people move out of hospital and back home more quickly, falls clinic and falls management programme, specialist rehabilitation and carer support.

The team was developed from a community rehabilitation team based at Alderney Community Hospital funded by Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust. The PCT have built on the work that was started by Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust four years ago to develop the Elderly Resource Team.

Rapid Response Home Care Service is a specialist home care service provided by the Borough of Poole Adult Social Services (commissioning). It is available for two weeks to support an older person or their carer at home and prevent their admission to hospital or residential care. It can be accessed by primary care teams, staff in A&E, the Woodlands Elderly Resource Team, or any social services staff.

Home from Hospital Home Care Service is a specialist home care service provided by the Borough of Poole Adult Social Services (commissioning). It is used by hospital staff to allow older people to leave hospital quickly with the help that they need to regain their independence at home.

Rehabilitation Home Care Service is a specialist home care service provided in partnership between the Poole Primary Care Trust and Borough of Poole Adult Social Services (commissioning). It is based within the Elderly Resource Team and provides intensive rehabilitative home care to older people in their homes.

For further information please contact:
Julia Lawrence
Corporate Services Manager, Poole Primary Care Trust, 01202 710100

Press release provided by Dr Matt Thomas
Consultant Physician, Poole Hospital NHS Trust