Staff at temporary hospital ward in Mansfield Woodhouse honoured with award

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust opened its Sherwood Community Unit in May 2022 to free-up hospital beds for those that need them most within existing wards at the trust’s Mansfield Community, King’s Mill in Sutton and Newark hospitals.

The unit provides transitional care for patients who have already received hospital treatment and medical attention, but are awaiting care packages to be arranged with care homes, community teams or wherever else patients call home.

Since welcoming its first patient in early May 2022, the 19-bed unit has gone on to care for more than 400 patients.

The unit was one of 18 winners announced at the trust’s annual excellence awards, which celebrate staff, volunteers and its community partners who have gone above-and-beyond expectations for the patients they serve.

Nurse Lindsey Chapman, who oversees the unit, said: “Our hospitals are always there for people when they need them, but once they’ve received the vital attention they need, it’s important we can return patients to wherever they call home as quickly as possible, to free our hospital beds for those that need them most.

“Our community unit is a great example of how we’re thinking differently to ensure patients can receive the best possible healthcare in the right place, while keeping our essential services running.

“Patients and their families have been grateful for the transitional care the unit provides and we are delighted to receive this recognition.”

Claire Ward, trust chairman, said: “NHS services remain busy across the country and our hardworking NHS staff and volunteers are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to help manage those pressures and provide the best possible care to patients.

“The Sherwood Community Unit is a brilliant example of that work and its opening has had a huge impact in being able to extend the walls of our hospitals to provide efficient and safe care to patients who are otherwise ready to be discharged from our hospitals but are waiting for their onward care to be arranged.”

The unit opened as a temporary measure, but is now expected to remain open throughout this winter, with its longer-term future still to be decided.