NHS trust for West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds to close King Suite at Glastonbury Court care home
A suite which offers rehabilitation to medically-fit hospital patients is to close as an NHS trust looks to cut costs.
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) will shut the King Suite at Glastonbury Court care home in Bury St Edmunds in September.
The facility, which opened in 2017, has 20 beds and about 35 staff, who provide care and support for West Suffolk Hospital patients before they are discharged home.
WSFT launched a review of the service as its contract with Glastonbury Court, which is run by Care UK, was up for renewal and it previously said it is working to ‘balance the books’ having agreed to a £20.7m deficit budget for the current financial year.
Kevin McGinness, associate director of community adult services at WSFT, said: “Our colleagues at Glastonbury Court have always worked hard to provide excellent care.
“This decision is about providing more of that care and rehabilitation at home - which patients tell us they want - and making it affordable in the long term.
“There will still be options for people who don’t need to be in hospital but aren’t quite ready to return home. And patient safety will always be paramount in these decisions.
“We’re working hard to support our King Suite staff while carefully managing this phased closure so patient care is unaffected.”
No new patients will be admitted after the end of July, with services at the King Suite finishing in early September.
The decision falls within the trust’s wider review of services as part of its financial recovery programme and its strategic commitment to delivering care closer to home.
Staff were told of the decision last week and the trust will continue to meet with those affected.
When the suite opened in February 2017, it was billed as one of the trust’s key innovations to support the management of winter pressures.
Based in a separate wing at Glastonbury Court, patients were able to benefit from single rooms, en-suite bathrooms and access to a lounge, dining room and grounds.
At the time of its launch, the trust said it was supported by a comprehensive multidisciplinary team including two consultants, GPs, therapists, nursing and community staff.
