Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have agreed bed space with a local hotel to help alleviate the demand for hospital beds.
Norfolk CCG have taken this temporary measure which will cater for up to 15 patients for up to three months.
The trust declared a critical incident earlier this week with concerns over their ability to provide care at the required quality,
The hotel beds will not be available to people with confirmed Covid-19 or anyone displaying symptoms of the virus.
The care hotel will mainly be used to relieve beds for people more in need of hospital treatment but will continue to offer care through a qualified team for those who take residency there on a short-term temporary measure.
The CCG has said it has experienced a month of “sustained and unprecedented pressure” and continuous staff shortages due to isolation periods are still causing issues across many trusts nationwide.
Cath Byford, Chief Nurse, NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Colleagues across our health and care system have been working tirelessly to ensure that people get the medical help they need as quickly and as safely as possible during this time of enormous pressure on our services.
“This innovative pilot will provide a short-term safe, ‘home from home’ environment for people to move to from hospital when they are well enough but when they are not quite ready to go home without support.
“This will help to speed up the passage of patients through our local hospitals so that we can make more beds available for those who need them most."
"This is the first time we have tried this new approach in Norfolk and Waveney, although the model has been used successfully in other regions."
Social care settings are also struggling with the demand with rehabilitation hospitals experiencing an influx of patients who are not ready to be discharged but can no longer take up beds on hospital wards due to the demand for Covid beds.
