'Comfort packs' given to vulnerable people leaving West Sussex hospitals
They contain items to help them following their discharge from wards
A new project has been launched to provide comfortable clothing packs for vulnerable patients leaving hospitals in West Sussex.
The ‘Home in Comfort’ initiative will be trialled at St Richards Hospital in Chichester and Worthing Hospital from June 1st to 1 December 1st.
Supported by Love Your Hospital, the official charity of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, the scheme will be providing patients with lightweight trousers and jumper sets to ensure they are appropriately dressed for their journey home.
The idea was developed by Richard Knowles, Transport and Laundry Manager, and Frances Usher-Smith, Matron for Dementia at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
Frances said:
“We often see patients who live alone, are homeless or don’t have any loved ones nearby to provide suitable clean clothing to wear on the journey home from hospital.
"As part of the Trust’s ‘Respect’ and ‘Compassion’ values, by providing warm clothes we’ll continue to give our patients outstanding care as they leave us to return home and it will go a long way in maintaining their dignity too.”
Love Your Hospital, which also provides funding for ‘Welcome Home’ packs containing essentials such as milk, bread and cheese for vulnerable patients going home, has welcomed the use of charitable funds to enable this project.
David Clayton-Evans, head of the charity, said:
“As an NHS charity, we look to support hospital projects that show a clear and direct benefit to our patients. We work closely with staff to identify ways donations given to us so generously by the local community can support the funding of upgraded medical equipment, improve hospital facilities and invest in the development of staff.
“In this case, enabling staff to provide dignified care for patients who do not have that support waiting at home is an incredibly worthwhile venture and has the full backing of the charity.”
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest acute trusts in the UK and provides a wide range of clinical services to people in West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, and parts of East Sussex.
If successful, the ‘Home in Comfort’ project will become available to all in-patient wards Trust-wide.