Community rehabilitation support set to expand with permanent closure of ward in Grantham

More people in Lincolnshire will be supported to get back to living independently, with the expansion of community mental health rehabilitation support for people with severe and long-term mental health difficulties.

The service is being expanded following a decision to permanently close Ashley House, a mental health rehabilitation ward in Grantham, which has been closed since February 2021, following staffing pressures during the pandemic.

During its closure Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) has been piloting a new community rehabilitation approach. The community-based service has had such a positive impact that the Board and local commissioners, have now decided not to reopen the ward and instead expand the community rehabilitation team to cover the entire county.

Ashley House previously provided 15 beds for people from across the county with serious and long-term mental illness, who were learning how to live independently again following significant periods in hospital. The Trust also runs a twin unit in Boston at Maple Lodge, which continues to provide the same level of care and support as Ashley House for those still requiring hospital treatment.

However, many people will no longer need to stay in hospital with the expansion of the community rehabilitation service, as the team will provide intensive community support to enable more people to get back to living independently in their community.

Chris Higgins, Director of Operations at LPFT said:

“Providing more mental health support closer to people’s homes, rather than in hospital is an ambition for both the Trust and NHS nationally. The introduction of community rehabilitation in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Grantham over the past two years has shown just how successful this approach can be in reducing hospital admissions and improving people’s experiences and confidence.

“Between January and March we formally consulted with patients, carers, staff and other stakeholders on our proposals to reduce hospital beds for low dependency rehabilitation and expand the community approach. Feedback throughout the consultation told us people preferred receiving care in the community rather than in hospital and our data has continued to show we can meet demand for this type of care in our remaining unit in Boston or through the community rehabilitation service - meaning even less people will have to travel for hospital care, as they will be able to receive care in their local community.

“We were also able to seek an independent view from clinicians across the East Midlands Clinical Senate and Lincolnshire Health Scrutiny Committee, who supported this as a future approach.”

Now that a final decision has been taken following the public consultation, the community rehabilitation service will be using funding previously allocated to Ashley House to recruit and expand the team to all areas of the county. It is expected to take around nine months to fully mobilise countywide.

The Trust will also now be working with local partners in NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board and Lincolnshire County Council to understand how the vacant ward could now be used in the future.

Chris added

“As a Trust we remain committed to using the unit to provide support to people with mental health difficulties, dementia, learning disabilities or autistic people and we’ll be working with local partners on the most appropriate use going forward.”

“As a Trust we will be continuing to monitor the impact this ward closure has on our communities, as well as ensuring that the community rehabilitation service and remaining ward in Boston are able to continue meeting demand.”