Mental health rehab centre in Worcester set to close
The closure of the two units would take the number of rehab beds in the two counties from 33 down to 15.
A rehab unit in Worcester for patients with mental health needs is set to be shut down.
Cromwell House, an inpatient centre in Barbourne, provides 24-hour care as part of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust’s recovery services.
The trust is also planning to close Oak House, a similar facility in Hereford, leaving Keith Winter House in Bromsgrove as its only community rehabilitation unit.
It says the savings made will allow it to create a new community team capable of caring for up to 135 people in their own homes or supported accommodation.
Sue Harris, director of strategy, people and culture at the trust, said the move “isn’t about savings – it’s about getting value for money”.
She told a health overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday (July 21) that “transparent conversations” have been had with staff and said the two buildings are “not fit for the future”.
“At the moment you’d either go into a rehabilitation bed or not,” she said. “Even if we could support you at home we don’t have that rehabilitation capacity in our team, so that would see many more boots on the ground going into people’s homes very practically.”
Looking to how the process will work in the future, she added: “Across the two counties, if you needed a bed you would go to Bromsgrove – it’s to do with your need and how we meet it in your home.”
Councillor Mike Ward asked what happens if more than 15 people need a bed once the capacity has been more than halved.
“Where do those people go if they need a bed?” he said.
Clinical lead Sian Westaway said a bigger community team will be able to work with rehab patients in their homes to reduce the number of people that are readmitted.
“If we didn’t have the bed and the patient was in desperate need of a level one bed, we would need to look to other providers within our cluster, however evidence suggests that wouldn’t need to happen, based on the modelling we have done.”
She said Cromwell House has accessibility and flooding issues.
“Staff are sad that units may close but they also see the positive impact for patients,” said Ms Medaway.