The new Ruby Ward is hoped to overhaul Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership care. This report comes from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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00:00 A new facility for older women with complex needs that can't be met in the community.
00:06 The Ruby Ward in Maidstone has 16 beds and boasts plenty of impressive new features.
00:12 But a trust behind this building has been pulled up multiple times for its care.
00:17 And Bedway Council's October scrutiny committee issues including waiting times, worker dissatisfaction
00:24 and staff retention were all pulled up.
00:27 "There's set guidance on how many members of staff you need, so that's adhered to and
00:32 also the senior staff are constantly monitoring, have we got enough staff on the ground.
00:36 So the matrons, the ward managers constantly communicating and seeing if we've got the
00:41 right number of staff on any particular shift and overall as an organisation as well our
00:46 recruitment is increasing, our medical recruitment is in a fantastic place and recruitment for
00:51 other roles is also improving."
00:53 But trusts have three locations across Kent.
00:56 The Ruby Ward was originally in Medway but the patients were put into dormitories.
01:02 Now they'll have individual rooms with en-suites.
01:05 Tina has been working with older adults for 30 years.
01:09 She says this will do a lot for the mental health of patients and to speed up their recovery
01:14 time.
01:15 "Because they'll be able to move around, they won't be isolated, they'll have more access
01:18 to open spaces where they didn't have that before and everybody knows going out in sunshine
01:23 where there is air and colour, you can go out into that and enjoy that so that's hopefully,
01:29 so if we get patients that have got depression that will lift up their depression, it is
01:34 so much more user friendly."
01:36 The Amatrust says the new ward boasts state of the art equipment like this assisted bath
01:41 and it even has bubbles.
01:47 There are also cooking facilities with the aim of getting patients to gain life skills
01:52 to get them back into the community.
01:54 "It's relaxing, it's good for the nurses, the staff, everything and like they say, if
02:02 you've got a happy nurse you're going to have a happy patient and with all the facilities
02:10 that are here, they're not here on a long term basis, come in, get the work done and
02:19 try to get them back into their own homes as soon as possible."
02:22 Mental health units have seen unprecedented demand in recent years and have equally come
02:27 under increased scrutiny.
02:29 The promise for this new multi-million pound facility will go a long way to improving treatment.
02:35 Gabriel Morris in Maidstone.
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