A BRAND new purpose-built £5m 24 bed community Intermediate Care Unit situated in the grounds at North Manchester General Hospital has opened.
The new unit, known as Crumpsall Vale, will support patient flow from the hospital and the community. Initially there will be 16 residential beds and eight nursing beds, but this will increase to 16 nursing beds and eight residential beds. All rooms have their own bathroom with a shower.
The Crumpsall Vale unit is a joint partnership between The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs North Manchester General Hospital, and Manchester Health & Care Commissioning.
The building has been constructed on an old overflow car park to the north of the hospital site. Construction company Carefoot started work on the building last year and all that remains to do now is complete the landscaping.
From today the new unit will become part of Pennine’s Community Assessment and Support Service (CASS), a new integrated service delivery model that aims to avoid admissions, reduce length of stay and improve patient and carer experiences by providing better access to the right intervention, at the right time, delivered by the right health or social care worker.
Professor Matt Makin, Medical Director at the North Manchester Care Organisation said:
“This is a landmark investment by the Northern Care Alliance and its partners at North Manchester General Hospital and it shows our commitment to providing state of the art facilities to the people of North Manchester and beyond. By building this Unit, The Alliance and its partners have fully embraced the modern healthcare philosophy, and I am certain that Crumpsall Vale will provide a much needed service to the local population for many years to come. This is an excellent example of joint working, vision and investment across local health and social care organisations.”
Councillor Bev Craig, Manchester City Council’s executive member for Adult Social Care said:
“This new unit embodies our philosophy that joined up working ultimately provides a better experience for patients in the community. By looking holistically at all aspects of a person’s health and ensuring that the health and social care professionals are on hand supporting patients needs at a time when they are recovering from illness, gives them a chance to fully recover and reduce the risk of returning to hospital.”
The unit is low-rise in design and has a welcoming homely feel for patients, featuring a sunken communal garden, a patient gym and a mock apartment to help patients adjust to home life again. Crumpsall Vale has an open visiting policy and all referrals will be seen within 48 hours, Monday to Sunday, between 09.00am and 16.30pm.
