New ward to help ease so-called bed-blocking at Cornwall's main hospitals
Wheal Vor will also become a recruitment and training centre for health care support workers
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals' Trust is going to be opening a brand new ward ahead of the winter, to help alleviate so called bed-blocking.
'Wheal Vor' will have 28 inpatient beds for patients getting ready to leave hospital but who might need a care package to support them at home or to move into residential care.
Figures show that at any one time, 70 - 90 patients are ready to leave hospital in the Duchy but are waiting for the right support package on the outside.
Bosses say the new ward will be focussed on helping those patients maximise their potential to be as mobile and independent as they can be, while making sure they are able to leave as quickly as possible.
Nurse Consultant Frazer Underwood said: "When you think about that pressure that we're often focussed with the ambulances waiting at the front door, moving half of those on quickly will make a significant difference to the timeliness of care that we can provide, the safety of people in our care.
"It's really important that this new creative, innovative ward comes together and really contributes to the challenges that we're going to face this winter".
Named after Wheal Vor mine near Helston, renowned for its innovative approach to mining, the ward will also become a recruitment and training centre for health care support workers.
Practice Educators will be rostered onto the ward along with a team of staff nurses, allied health professionals and Health Care Support Workers in the core team.
The aim is to train a cohort of eighteen newly recruited HCSWs every six weeks to introduce them to care and commence their care certificate training, before they rotate to support care provision and development their experience in health and care services across Cornwall.
It is hoped the Wheal Vor ward will encourage new people to join Cornwall's NHS.
Frazer Underwood added: "We are challenged with capacity to care for the population that we need to so it is very much a gamechanger if we can give an attractive offer to people to come and work with us to have a great introduction to care".