UPDATE ON HAVANT HEALTH SERVICES

The Rapid Assessment Unit for Havant has come sooner than planned. Many frail elderly patients who need support and care after hospital treatment used to be seen at St Mary’s in Portsmouth. This service was due to move to Havant when the new facilities on the Oak Park site were completed, but this was brought forward and established in the Havant Health Centre in February this year – 18 months earlier than expected. It now means that patients have their continuing treatment and care closer to their own homes.

Building on the work previously done at St Mary’s, teams of doctors, nurses and therapy staff from the hospital and community health work together with GPs to enable local people to remain as independent as possible. This will include such services as Parkinson’s disease and Falls clinics.

The redevelopment of the Oak Park site is expected to start in June 2011, and the Rapid Assessment Unit will move there from the health centre when the work is completed.