County Hospital named in the top five hospitals in the UK for elderly care
County Hospital in Stafford has been named one of the top five hospitals in the country for elderly care following the opening of a new assessment unit.
The Frailty Assessment Unit (FAU), launched by University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) in November 2024, treats patients aged over 75 who attend the hospital’s Emergency Department (ED), ensuring they receive appropriate and timely care so they can return home at the earliest opportunity.
County Hospital now ranks fifth out of 175 NHS hospitals for elderly care in the latest NHS England Elderly Care Index patient flow, placing UHNM among the top five per cent of organisations for elderly care performance.
Latest figures from UHNM show 87 per cent of elderly patients who attend FAU now go home the same day, up from just 49 per cent when they were treated in the ED.
On average the unit helps to avoid more than five hospital admissions a day, with the average length of stay just four hours.
Dr Alice Holt, Emergency Medical Consultant at UHNM, said: “The success of FAU at County Hospital has been transformative. Since its opening nearly nine out of ten patients seen in the unit have been discharged home the same day, many of whom would have been admitted to a ward. It’s an example of how early and targeted care can deliver better outcomes for patients and relieve pressure on hospital beds.
“Our goal was to provide holistic, patient-centred care directly from ED and our data shows that this approach works. The unit helps to prevent unnecessary admissions, avoiding hospital deconditioning by encouraging patients to stay mobile, nourished, and engaged in their own recovery.”
There are now plans for the unit to move from a five-day to seven-day service.
Helen Lancaster, director of operations at County Hospital, said: "It’s been fantastic to see the dedication and hard work that’s gone into making FAU such a success. The team’s compassion, energy and focus on patient-centred care have delivered truly outstanding results, some of the best we’ve seen anywhere in the NHS.
"They’ve risen to the challenge with professionalism and heart, and their commitment continues to inspire us all.”
The unit has also received praise from a national NHS clinical improvement programme.
During a visit by the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, Dr Adrian Hopper, consultant geriatrician and GIRFT lead for geriatric medicine, said: “Timely care, admission avoidance and a short length of stay are all indicators that patients are experiencing better care thanks to FAU, made possible thanks to new models of care and greater effectiveness with the acute frailty team. This is something we’ve virtually not seen in any other hospital, the performance now is really outstanding and all credit to the team for the way they have developed to this new way of working.
“What is quite striking, meeting the team, is they’re constantly looking for new challenges to adapt what they have done and are not resting on their laurels. There is clearly a patient-centred way of thinking, with fantastic teamwork where everyone is interacting and communicating very straightforwardly.”