Member Article

CMS ensures swift reopening of care home to ease pressure on NHS

Commercial Maintenance Services UK Ltd (CMS) helped ease pressure on the NHS at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling Four Seasons Health Care to re-open a mothballed care home in just 10 days.

The family-run maintenance company – which specialises in the installation, maintenance, and repair of business-critical services – was able to quickly service and restore gas, electric and water supplies to Woodcot Lodge Care Home in Gosport, Hampshire.

Four Seasons Health Care reopened the home following a request from the Hampshire Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups to ease pressure on both Queen Alexander Hospital, Portsmouth, and other care homes in the area.

Woodcot is providing interim support in the rehabilitation of elderly patients up to a maximum of 28 days – after which residents will either return home or transfer to long-term care.

Residents are supported by a team of nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and skilled care staff who plan their rehabilitation and onward care and the rehabilitation service is the first of its kind in the county.

Strict measures are also in place, including an initial 14-day period of resident isolation, to guard against any spread of COVID-19.

Nic Smith, managing director of Gateshead-based CMS, said: “I’m delighted that we, as a business, were able to support both the NHS and Four Seasons Health Care by ensuring this home was able to reopen both quickly and safely.

“Our engineers serviced and checked the heating and cooling systems, hot water and power supplies – all critical factors in the care and comfort of elderly people – to ensure they were not only working efficiently but are compliant with strict safety standards.

“Our staff worked long hours and completed their task in a matter of days and were proud of the part they played in this innovative project.”

A spokeswoman for Four Seasons Health Care said: “From our initial meeting with the clinical commissioning group, Woodcot Lodge was open and fully-functioning within 10 days thanks to the hard work of our team together with the CMS engineers. This swift turnaround ensured the home could be opened quickly to support the local community at a time of critical need.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by News Gathering .