Overnight health unit to benefit patients

Based at The Becklin Centre in Leeds, the suite has been set up to provide immediate access to local inpatient services and is expected to save 911,000 a year.

Consisting of four beds, the facility will provide cover until the following day, when an appropriate bed can be found.

Service users admitted to the beds will receive the same level of nursing and medical care as they would when formally admitted to an inpatient ward, says Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust.

Michele Moran, director of care services and chief nurse, said "This innovative facility allows better access to local services. It will help us to meet the variation in demand for inpatient services and remove the need for out of area treatments."

The overnight suite is expected to benefit service users, as well as reducing the financial burden of out of area treatments.

Remaining in the area will help aid recovery through maintaining regular contact with carers and improved access to known facilities. Receiving local services also has a positive impact on the promotion of home leave, an important factor in aiding recovery.

In 2009/10, the trust's adult services spent 1.8m on out of area treatments and the overnight suite is expected to reduce the annual spending by 911,000, which will be re-invested in other services.

Ms Moran said "Managing the cost of out of area treatments is an issue of all NHS trusts. Through the work we have done we have identified a solution to this. Working together inpatient and community pathways, we are able to find appropriate bed space within 24 hours.

"The overnight suite offers a real solution to delivering continuity of care to our service users and reducing the financial burden of out of area treatments."