Enter and view: Community Inpatient Unit, Cambridge Park

Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire visited the Community Inpatient Unit at Cambridge Park, a rehabilitation and reablement service supporting people recovering from illness or injury before returning home. Overall, patients described the unit positively, praising staff for being caring, supportive and respectful. The environment was found to be clean, comfortable and well maintained, with patients encouraged to maintain independence and participate in activities where possible. 

While feedback was largely positive, both patients and staff raised concerns about staffing levels, particularly given the increasing complexity of patients' needs. Staff also highlighted difficulties finding time for training and professional development due to service pressures.

Key Findings

• Patients generally reported feeling safe, well cared for and supported during rehabilitation. 
• Staff were consistently praised for their kindness, responsiveness and person-centred approach. 
• Patients valued the range of activities available, including Tai Chi, bingo, crafts and patient forums. 
• Food was viewed positively overall, with flexibility to meet individual preferences. 
• Several patients reported occasional delays with call bells during busy periods. 
• Most staff felt staffing levels were insufficient at times, particularly given increasing patient complexity. 
• Staff wanted more opportunities for training and skills development. 

Conclusion

Healthwatch concluded that the Community Inpatient Unit provides a caring, clean and supportive rehabilitation environment with many examples of good practice. Recommendations focused on reviewing staffing levels to reflect patient complexity and ensuring staff have protected time to complete training and develop clinical skills. The provider accepted the recommendations and outlined ongoing work to strengthen staffing and specialist training provision.