Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre declared officially open

The new £9.5 million Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre, which will transform elderly care in a pioneering new approach, has been declared officially open.

Sewell Construction was chosen to deliver the new £9.5 million centre after a long partnership working with Citycare and the NHS to deliver 13 Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) health and community hubs across the city, and this is the first of its kind in the UK.

Hull’s ‘Bee Lady’ Jean Bishop officially opened the centre, which is named after her in honour of her tireless individual fundraising for older people’s charity Age UK, in front of 100 guests.

The centre, on the site of the former David Lister School in East Hull, aims to reduce unplanned hospital admissions by up to 20% and is forecasted to save the NHS up to £5.8 million, which NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says it could then reinvest in new services.

It will provide out of hospital care, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, and enabling residents to keep fit, healthy and living independently in their own homes.

Derek Nickolds, Project Manager at Sewell Construction, said: “NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Community Health Partnerships (CHP) recognised that a new facility was needed to bring hospital referrals back into the community and to take the pressure away from the acute setting, including the accident and emergency department.

“The new centre is aimed to make the referral journey for 3000 vulnerable or frail people in the city, easier and more efficient, ensuring they are treated more holistically and can remain in their own homes, or usual setting, for longer.

“Due to the complexities of the scheme, a collaborative approach with the client and extensive amounts of community engagement took place before construction work began.

“Sewell Construction was part of the design team alongside Sewell Facilities Management to help maintain longevity for the building, while community engagement was key throughout the development.

“As the centre is built within a residential area, we held regular community drop ins and ensured we were a good neighbour. Work took place at set times to ensure disruption for local residents was kept to a minimum and deliveries were co-ordinated with restricted access and to avoid congestion in the local area.”

Dan Simmons, Development Manager at Citycare, praised the construction team for their work throughout the project.

He said: “The team’s energy and enthusiasm to deliver a zero defect project, safely, with such high local labour figures was fantastic and they were great to work with.

“The build quality is excellent and the approach to engagement with stakeholders, from end users to local residents, throughout this innovative project really made the difference.”

Hull City Council provided the land for the facility, as well as the adjacent Newbridge Village social housing scheme for over 65s.

Council leader Councillor Stephen Brady said: “The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre will be incredibly important for this area and I am delighted to see the scheme come to fruition.

“This facility will transform the way we care for some of the elderly people living in Hull. This and the Newbridge Village development represent a link between good housing and health and wellbeing in what is a real first in the provision of healthcare in the city.”

In a new and unique approach to health and care, the groundbreaking services and new clinically-led team at the centre will primarily treat 3,000 frail older people in Hull with long term conditions who have been assessed by their GP as being at risk of hospital admission.

The team includes older people’s consultants and geriatricians, advance nurse practitioners, GPs, pharmacists, therapists, social workers and the voluntary sector. Diagnostics at the centre enable the team to undertake blood tests, X-rays and, in the future, CT scans.

Emma Latimer, NHS Hull CCG Chief Officer, said: “We know people don’t want to be in hospital unless they absolutely need to be. We have listened to this and have developed a fantastic new facility which can support people to remain independent wherever possible.

“It’s such a wonderful service and provides everything I would want for my own family – human kindness, the time to listen and to identify what’s important for each individual person. The new service has been meticulously planned and thought through, from the café run by a local charity providing bite size meals for patients, through to the diagnostic testing and the specialist team in place.

“I’m so proud that through our partnerships we’ve been able to make this happen – Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, City Health Care Partnership (CHCP), the local authority, the fire service, our development partners Citycare, and voluntary and charity organisations, all working together to make sure people get the best possible care.”