News stories

One of Good Hope’s wards celebrated its fifth birthday with a party for staff, patients and visitors.

The Homeward Centre, based in the Sheldon Unit, is a nurse and therapy-led area which opened in December 2018. It’s one of the largest wards at the hospital with 25 single rooms, therapies rooms, a dining and lounge area for patients to meet, eat and socialise, and a garden space.

When it opened, Homeward represented an investment of £1 million by the Department of Health with The Rt Hon Jacqui Smith officially cutting the red ribbon.

Since opening, Homeward has cared for thousands of patients, including Carol Fowler who enjoyed the party with her family. Carol said, “I’ve been well looked after and cared for here. Ten out of ten for the therapy and nursing teams. It was nice to be at the party on the fifth anniversary and celebrate with staff.”

Homeward aims to provide intensive short-term rehabilitation so that patients who are medically stable but require further therapy or are waiting for transfer to external services, can continue therapy in a facility tailored to their needs.
Patients benefit from being encouraged to be as independent as possible, through taking part in exercises, functional tasks and having personalised goals. The ‘home-first’ strategy is underpinned by an integrated nursing and therapy approach to patient care.
Emma Hartill, Associate Director of Nursing, and Caroline Graham, Clinical Team Leader in Therapies, were both involved right at the start during the unit’s planning stages and have been involved ever since.

Caroline said, “We are really fortunate to have Homeward at Good Hope – it plays a huge role in getting patients ready for home, focussing on their independence and achieving good patient outcomes. Our integrated approach, where nursing and therapy colleagues work together alongside our patients, ensures they have the best possible quality of life when they leave our care.”

Emma added, “The birthday party has been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the past five years – to show our appreciation for our hard-working colleagues and volunteers and reflect on all the patients and their families we’ve met and cared for along the way. Here’s to another five years of teamwork and excellent patient care.”