Last week saw Waveney MP Peter Aldous visit Beccles Hospital, run by East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH), as the social enterprise celebrates its 10th year of providing community-based NHS and social care in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Peter met with hospital staff to reflect on the challenges and successes faced by teams over the past year and to discuss the future of healthcare in our local community.

Having re-opened Beccles Hospital in 2017 following a major refurbishment, Peter was given an updated tour of the facilities on Minsmere Ward by Unit Manager for Intermediate Care Lisa Ruthven, and Jeramy Philpott, Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care for St Elizabeth Hospice.

The unit currently provides in-patient facilities for those who need medical care or therapy, but do not require acute care in a general hospital. ECCH’s multidisciplinary teams also provide intense rehabilitation on the ward to enable patients to return to an independent life as soon as possible.

The ward also houses six palliative care beds with specialist consultant support from St Elizabeth Hospice, forming part of a wider joint initiative between ECCH and the charity which has seen over 1950 people with life-limiting illnesses in Great Yarmouth and Waveney receive free specialist palliative care since April 2019.

Peter also met with staff from the Waveney Primary Care Home (PCH); one of four ‘hubs’ set up by ECCH in 2019 to support GP practices in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area. Peter was particularly impressed with the way ECCH’s PCH teams work in partnership with GPs, acute trusts and other health and social care professions, remarking that ECCH is “breaking down the silos in healthcare” to deliver high quality patient care for our communities.