A new state-of-the-art 60 bed intermediate care unit helping patients regain their independence before they return home has officially opened in Salford.
Salford City Council borrowed £10.4million for the development of the unit, which will be recovered in repayments from a pooled budget over a 25-year lease term.
The Bevan Intermediate Care Unit, on Stott Lane, Salford, welcomed its first patients in November.
The two-storey building is for those patients who do not need a hospital bed but require further support as they prepare to return home. The building includes light-filled day rooms for patients and a therapy garden to promote wellbeing.
The unit is expected to cut the time required for people to stay in hospital from 27 days to 21 days.
And it will help with freeing up hospital beds so other patients can be treated, especially at a time when hospital waiting lists continue to grow across the country following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Pete Turkington, chief officer and medical director at Salford Care Organisation, which is part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said: “When our patients no longer need to be in a hospital bed, it’s better for their ongoing recovery to return to the comfort of their own home as soon as possible and this new unit will provide the perfect environment for them to regain their confidence and independence.
“It is fantastic to see the unit up and running so our patients can benefit from these state-of-the-art facilities – we’re very proud to be able to open such a great unit in Salford.
“A huge amount of work has gone into making this a reality – not only by our staff but also our partners in the city - and I would like to thank all those involved for ensuring our patients were transferred safely into these wonderful new premises.”
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “This Bevan intermediate Care Unit is an incredible new facility – one we have never had the luxury of having before – and we are so proud to play our part as a City Council in making it happen, bringing this excellent facility in our City into fruition.
“It is great to see this building officially open and already in use. It is a first-class facility and exactly what people need and rightly deserve in our City. We know that intermediate care has a massive impact on people’s recovery and helps them to regain independence and confidence. The Bevan Unit will help people return to and remain living in their own home for longer, which is really important at this time given the demands on our care home services.
“This is all about improving the care for local people and providing them with the best possible outcomes and experiences while they need support and assistance.
We want a better and fairer Salford for all and part of this is not comprising on care - people deserve the best we can possibly offer. This new unit helps to deliver that. It also increases bed capacity when compared with arrangement prior to this excellent facility being built.
“The council worked hard to borrow the money and provided the land to make this unit possible which helped to drive this project forwards so it could be open as soon as possible. And thanks to remodelling we have managed to retain the car park, which supports patients, visitors and staff at our outstanding hospital.
“I’d like to thank our partners for working so hard behind the scenes and on the ground to make this initial dream become a reality. When the time is right and it is safe I would love to visit again and meet the people who are benefiting from the care provided and see what a huge difference it makes to their lives.”
Fiona McLoughlin, senior project manager at DAY Project Management Ltd, said: “It’s been a privilege working with a fantastic team to deliver the new Bevan Intermediate Care Unit. For such a challenging year during the Coronavirus pandemic the team have worked really hard to deliver such a high-quality new Unit within 12 months. Thank you to Salford City Council and the Northern Care Alliance for giving us the opportunity to deliver this new Unit for you.”
Galliford Try NW said: “The successful delivery of the Bevan IMU project has been an excellent example of collaborative working across the whole project team, the challenges that COVID created during construction have been overcome and the whole Galliford Try NW team are very proud to have delivered such a high quality building for Salford City Council & the NHS Trust.”
Construction company Galliford Try worked with DAY Project Management to build the care facility, which is owned by Salford Council.