Category Archives: Norwich

Country’s first emergency department for over 80s to open in Norfolk

Members of the NNUH Emeregncy care team and Older People’s Medicine. Photo: NNUH

The county’s busiest hospital is to become the first in the UK to open an emergency department (ED) specifically for the elderly.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) announced innovative plans to transform the way it delivers emergency care and will open the first A&E dedicated to patients over the age of 80.

From the end of November, when a patient over 80 years old arrives at the NNUH ED, they will go straight to the older people’s ED, where there will be a multi-disciplinary team consisting of ED consultants, consultant geriatricians, and emergency and older people’s medicine nurses waiting to provide care for them.

Currently around 50 patients a day aged 80 or over visit A&E, and the new department will cater for around this number.

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Digitally excluded: The 90,000 Norfolk households not going online

Dan Grimmer

Older people can lack the confidence to go online, according to Norfolk County Council research.

More than 90,000 homes in Norfolk have no or very limited access to the internet, either because of lack of connections, not being able to afford it or not having the confidence to use it.

Research has shown that almost a quarter of the county’s homes are defined as “digitally excluded”.

A similar study in London showed just 15pc of households there were unable or unlikely to use the internet.

The Norfolk County Council research showed homes where people were unlikely, or unable, to use the internet included “significant” numbers of older people, families on low incomes and those living in social housing.

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Fears ‘senseless’ cuts will hit vulnerable people in Norwich’s sheltered housing

Dan Grimmer

Older people could suffer because of cuts to support services in sheltered housing, the deputy leader of Norwich City Council has warned.

Some of the most vulnerable people in Norwich could suffer because of what the deputy leader of the city council has branded “senseless” cuts to support in sheltered housing.

City Hall bosses have started visiting the 1,000 people in their 26 sheltered housing schemes about what might have to change because of cuts agreed by Norfolk County Council.

The county council is reducing what it spends on housing support from £10.5m to £4.7m by 2018/19 and that means the city council has £292,500 less to spend.

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