The team behind a former care home that has been converted into a temporary hospital ward has received an NHS award for its work in caring for patients who are waiting to be discharged from three local hospitals.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals opened the Sherwood Community Unit in May 2022 to free-up hospital beds for those that need them most on existing wards at King’s Mill, Sutton; Mansfield Community; and Newark hospitals.

The Mansfield Woodhouse unit’s main purpose is to provide transitional care for patients who have already received hospital treatment, but are awaiting care packages to be arranged with care homes, community teams, or wherever else patients call home.

The 19-bed unit has cared for more than 400 patients in the past six months.

The Unit was one of 18 winners announced at Sherwood Forest Hospitals’ annual Excellence Awards to celebrate trust staff, volunteers, and its community partners who have gone above-and-beyond expectations for the patients they serve.

Lindsey Chapman, the nurse who oversees the unit, said: “Our hospitals are always there for people when they need them, but once they’ve received the vital attention they need it’s so important that we can return patients to wherever they call home as quickly as possible to free-up our hospital beds for those who really do need them most.

“Our Community Unit is a great example of how we’re thinking differently to ensure patients can receive the best possible healthcare in the right place, while keeping our essential NHS services running.”

The trust’s chair, Claire Ward, who presented the team with their Chair’s Award at a visit to the unit, said: “The unit has had a huge impact in being able to extend the walls of our hospitals to provide efficient and safe care to patients who are otherwise ready to be discharged from our hospitals, but are waiting for their onward care to be arranged.”

The unit had been opened as a temporary measure but is now expected to remain open throughout this winter, with its longer-term future still to be decided.