Shropshire Lord-Lieutenant visits Shrewsbury mental health service
Shropshire's Lord-Lieutenant paid a visit to a mental health service in Shrewsbury.
Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) was pleased to welcome Anna Turner to the Redwoods Centre on Monday, May 10.
Mrs Turner was invited to visit the inpatient mental health service following a letter of thanks that she wrote to the staff of the centre’s Oak ward, which provides care for older adults with dementia.
Mrs Turner was moved to write to the ward after reading about its award-winning hospital avoidance programme.
During the visit, ward manager Sharon Madden spoke to Mrs Turner about the programme, which offers specialist mental health nursing support out of hours in order to avoid hospital admissions, or where someone needs to come into hospital, to reduce the length of stay required for dementia patients living in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
Sharon said: “Admission to hospital for a person with dementia can be traumatic and can lead to an escalation in confusion, disorientation and associated behaviours.
"Research suggests that increased hospital stays can have a negative effect on people with dementia including their general physical health and on the symptoms of dementia, such as becoming more confused and less independent.”
Mrs Turner spent time talking with the staff and patients of Oak ward and expressed how pleased she was to find that the Redwoods Centre is a "bright, warm and welcoming environment" for patients.
Mrs Turner said: “The innovation, collaboration, courage and selflessness shown by so many across the county during the Covid-19 pandemic has been truly inspiring. Thank you for the compassion and love you have shown to your vulnerable patients.”
Cathy Riley, managing director of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Care Group, added: “We were pleased to welcome Mrs Turner to the Redwoods Centre and to share with her the great work that continues to be done by our teams here in Shrewsbury.
“Our staff have worked extremely hard throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s always appreciated when the care and commitment that our staff give to our patients and service users is recognised. Mrs Turner’s visit and kind words of thanks are very much valued.”
