More hotels to house NHS patients to free up hospital beds in Buckinghamshire and Dorset

More hotels across the country are to be turned into temporary care facilities to free up hospital beds in Buckinghamshire and Dorset.

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust is transferring up to 16 patients to the Village hotel in Bournemouth as severe demand across hospital services continues. The patients are medically ready to leave but need support in the short term before returning home.

The trust said it was a “temporary measure to help ease the flow of patients throughout the hospitals”.

The care of the patients in the hotel will be provided by Abicare, which is already running similar services in four hotels in England.

Village Hotels said: "Our hotel in Bournemouth is based directly opposite the Royal Bournemouth Hospital so is perfectly placed to help. We have a long relationship with the hospital and this has helped with the planning and organisation needed to ensure that the patients coming to our hotel will receive the best possible care. As a brand, we pride ourselves on supporting the local communities in which we operate, so we are delighted to be able to offer our bedrooms to patients to recuperate."

It has also been reported that Buckinghamshire NHS Trust is using a hotel within Stoke Mandeville Stadium as a temporary care facility for patients.

It was announced last week that a city centre hotel in Norwich is to be temporarily transformed into a care facility as the area's health and care system remains in a critical incident.

Photo: www.facebook.com/VillageHotels/