The UK's Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which operates Shropshire’s two acute hospitals, has announced the availability of a new one-to-one service to deliver better care for patients.

The SaTH Enhanced Care Team (ECT) provides support to patients who meet specific criteria, including people facing mental health challenges, individuals with dementia, those at risk of falls and patients undergoing substance withdrawal or experiencing delirium.

Enhanced Care Support Workers (ECSW) provide one-to-one care at Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, catering to each patient's requirements and abilities. They collaborate closely with other teams.

Samantha Matthews, the clinical lead of the ECT, manages a group of 21 ECSWs who are currently providing patient care in hospital wards.

The Trust is expanding the team by adding another nine members soon.

For preventing de-conditioning risk and enhancing the overall experience, patients are encouraged to engage in cognitive and physical activities while they receive the support and supervision of the team.

Nurses assess the level of support and supervision for patients as they enter the wards.

In a statement, Matthews said: “Feedback from families and carers has been positive. We support a patient’s recovery by engaging in ongoing therapies, such as speech and language and physical therapies.

“This has shown an improvement in the patients re-conditioning and their engagement with loved ones and staff.

“We have also observed that the rapport between ECSWs and patients has also led to improvements in patient hydration and their nutritional intake.”