SPOTLIGHT
How do we as a society provide high-quality nursing and residential care to people whose complex needs
and behaviours mean they are ill-suited to mainstream services? Edwin House, a specialist care and
reablement centre for people with histories of drug and alcohol abuse, is beginning to provide some answers.
Edwin HousE – a uniquE carE and nursing
EnvironmEnt for pEoplE witH a History
of drug and alcoHol misusE
Tens of thousands of adults in the UK are
living with serious physical and mental health
conditions related to their past or current
misuse of alcohol and drugs.
As funding continues to fall for established
support and treatment services, this number
is expected to grow in the years ahead – with
predictable results:
• more people with complex needs will be
forced into inappropriate care environments
• more people will end up in hospital
• and, most shockingly of all, more people will
likely die on our streets.
Edwin House, the UK’s only specialist co-
located residential care, nursing and inpatient
detoxification unit, has been developed by the
charity Framework to care for those people
who will otherwise be left behind – both now
and in the future.
Located in Nottingham, the service was
opened in February 2018 to do two things:
• to provide comfort, care and security to
residents and patients with complex
health needs and behaviours;
• and to provide cost-effective, high quality
care options to statutory agencies
struggling to meet the needs of an
increasingly complex population.
Residents have a wide range of health
conditions, from alcohol-related brain injuries
to various cancers. They are all supported with
individual care plans suited to their needs.
Framework operations director Michael Leng
explained:
‘Across the UK we have an aging population
of people who have experienced long-term
complex histories of problematic substance
misuse, family breakdown, homelessness and
deprivation.
‘Because of their high support needs and
complex histories it is often impossible to
provide them with appropriate, stable, long-
term care solutions that enable them to live
with dignity and security. Edwin House provides
both dignity and security, and operates in the
12 | drinkanddrugsnews | Rehab Guide 2019
‘Edwin
House
provides
both dignity
and security,
and operates
in the belief
that it is
never too
late to
improve
quality
of life...’
MicHaEl lEng
belief that it is never too late to improve the
quality of life for this vulnerable and
marginalised section of society.’
The CQC-registered facility consists of two
distinct services – a 48-bed unit providing
residential care, nursing care and re-ablement
support, as well as a 14-bed, consultant-led,
medically assisted inpatient detoxification
unit. With this unique configuration it is able
to cater for the widest possible range of needs
– from respite placements to end-of-life care.
David*, 45, is a long-term former rough
sleeper with terminal cancer. He explained:
‘Before coming here I was in hospital for
four months and didn’t want to be there
anymore. It wasn’t very private and could be
noisy as well. I was told about this place by my
nurses and I really couldn’t have asked for
much more. It’s really turned my life around
because it feels like a home. I can have my own
stuff in here and have even started to feel a bit
house proud! Obviously it’s a very difficult
situation for me, but I know I am in the right
place here.’
Framework operations manager Bernadette
Linton has overseen the development of the
project. She added:
‘In many ways people like David really sum
up what Edwin House is all about: providing
options for professional, compassionate care to
people whose complex needs make them ill-
suited to other more traditional care settings.
‘In all probability the only other option for
David was to spend the rest of his life in a
hospital bed – which would have been a very
poor outcome for David on a human level, and
also for the NHS who would be unable to use
that bed for the foreseeable future.
‘Edwin House, then, serves two purposes: it
ensures that people have the care and support
they need to live (and in some cases die) with
dignity and security, whilst also minimising the
strain on local authorities and the NHS.
Another current patient, for example, was
admitted to hospital 99 times in the last year
alone. As a chaotic rough sleeper with an
undiagnosed alcohol-related brain injury there
were simply no other options for him locally.
And that really is at the heart of what we do –
we provide appropriate options for care in cases
where very few others exist.’
For more information please visit
www.edwinhouse.org or call 0115 8504002
*We have changed David’s name to preserve
his anonymity
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