Intermediate Care in Bolton

Bolton's intermediate care services can look after people - either in designated beds, or at home - to enable patients in hospital to get home sooner, or to prevent hospital admission in the first place. All the intermediate care services are accessed via a single referral point, with a response provided within 24 hours.

Good intermediate care can also avoid the need in some cases for admission to long term residential care.

Intermediate Care Placements

Residential intermediate care facilities for up to 47 people are currently in use, at Darley Court, Alderbank, Winifred Kettle, and Thicketford House. Patients can be transferred from hospital (known as "step down") or admitted from home if referred by their GP as an alternative to hospital (known as "step up"). In each case the patient must be medically stable.

The Assessment and Placement Team based in the Royal Bolton Hospital identifies patients on admission who might be suitable for intermediate care, assesses their needs and suitability for this type of care, and arranges placements.

Placements in intermediate care facilities are usually for a maximum of six weeks, and involve input from specialist medical staff, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy and generic support staff, to help patients regain as much independence as possible. Once the patient goes home, further follow-up support is available, in conjunction with Social Services.

This type of planned intermediate care can also be provided at home, in certain circumstances, for people leaving hospital.

The future strategy is to expand the provision so that more than eighty people can be accommodated in residential settings, with many more supported in their own homes.

The Intermediate Care Team is based at Darley Court, Shepherd Cross St, Halliwell and can be contacted on 01204 337084.

Leaflets Intermediate Care At Home and Intermediate Care Residential

The Rapid Response Team (Click for More)

Referrals are made by GPs and sometimes from hospital.
The Rapid Response Team can be contacted on 01204 531371.

Partnership Working

The development of intermediate care in Bolton has been led by a joint team from Bolton Social Services, Bolton Primary Care Trust and Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, with the involvement of other organisations such as Age Concern and Bolton Hospice.

The process of single assessments for older people, which will reduce duplication and help integrate health and social care, is being piloted within the intermediate care service.