Mrs. Judith Wood

Comment this month comes from Judith Wood who is a Clinical Transformation Facilitator at South Norfolk PCT.
...
If anyone would like further information, Judith is available at judith.wood@norwich-pct.nhs.uk

But Judith Wood, patient choice facilitator for Southern Norfolk PCT, has defended the decision saying people prefer to be at home rather than in a hospital.

"Improvements in surgical techniques mean that people are not so ill after an operation.In the past patients were put under general anaesthetic, would often be left with big scars and we would have to give them morphine-based painkillers that would knock them out.Today the procedures are much better and are often done under local anaesthetic so the patient recovers much more quickly," she explained.

Judith Wood, patient choice facilitator at Southern Norfolk PCT, said experience showed patients tend to recover better in their own homes, and they would be given support visits at home as often as needed.

A decision on the size of the ward will not be made until the review is finished in the autumn.

Mrs Wood said: "At the moment, we are looking at six beds going in October.We won't be closing Ashill.We know there are some key groups of patients who cannot go home, for whatever reason.We will still provide for them."

Mrs Wood said sending patients home after four days would not increase the risk of complications, and they would still go to the Ashill unit in cases of clinical need.

Judith Wood, clinical transformation facilitator for Southern Norfolk PCT, said the moves were part of plans to get treatment "right for patients".

"So we hit targets, we have had to commission additional activity outside the N&N," she said.