BRIDGWATER Community Hospital is taking the lead with an innovative approach to helping people in hospital get back to living an independent life.

It’s all part of the Home First scheme, which launched last year, and supports patients who are medically fit but might require a little more support with other aspects such as walking.

There are three pathways and the second has been relocated from Musgrove’s Exmoor short stay reablement unit to Waverly at Bridgwater’s hospital with positive effects.

The relocation means there are now 30 beds to help prevent patients become too reliant on not doing things for themselves and getting them prepared to live life in their own homes again.

It means the ward at Musgrove is also now free to help treat more sick patients.

This new approach takes various forms, whether it is having patients having dinner in a dining room with others rather than in their beds, running safe 'trial independent days' to see how patients might cope at home prior to them being discharged, and partnership work between Musgrove Park, Somerset Partnership, the county council and other charities and agencies, to help residents settle back into home life after a hospital stay.

"The idea is to build their confidence and is part of our Home First scheme - it is quite a new form of nursing and has taken some adapting but our staff have coped brilliantly and we are seeing positive results," says Joanna Jackson, enablement lead who is leading the project along with Norma Coombes, matron at Bridgwater Community Hospital.

“As a nurse your instinct is to help people so it can be quite difficult to take that step back but staff have really adapted to this way of care.

"Treatment is individualised, we ensure patients are confident they know which medication to take and when - the ward works as a stepping stone for getting home."

There are other small touches that can make a big difference - patients are helped to get up and dressed in the morning so that they are not stuck in bed for too long, and when visitors come they are encouraged to meet in the relaxed lounge area as opposed to by their beds.

Naomi from Taunton is 96 and being treated at the hospital.

"Everyone here is very friendly and I know nothing is too much trouble for the staff. It is wonderful, I feel like I am in The Ritz - if you have to be in hospital this is the place to be," Naomi said.

The ‘Home First’ scheme is implemented when a patient is medically fit and no longer requires an acute bed. At home they achieve a more accurate assessment of a person’s abilities and care needs and better patient experience and supports earlier discharge from hospital.

The enablement ward has 30 beds, all of which are en suite.

Cllr Gill Slocombe, Sedgemoor District Council's portfolio holder for Health and Wellbeing said: "This is something I have been pushing for a long time and it is lovely to see it in action, making a difference to people's lives.

"The staff here are doing a fantastic job, it has taken resilience to adapt to the new system. Bridgwater is getting bigger by the second and this is a vitally important facility."