Report to follow
Minutes:
The Chief Executive recognised the decision and recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting of 16 November 2025 with respect to the Benjamin Court facility at which there were three recommendations made. The first of these related to the availability of data detailing those people who were medically fit for discharge from acute hospitals in Norfolk but could not leave due to needing assessment for care packages, adaptations to their homes or other support. It has not been possible for this to be updated since the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of the 16October due to staff absence. The Council has made enquiries of the Norfolk virtual ward pilot scheme, which has only gone live relatively recently, and the Council are seeking responses from Norfolk Adult Services and the Norfolk First Support Programme looking at the availability of carers, which was raised by local stakeholders as part of the engagement with Health Watch. Currently there has been no response to these enquiries.
Data in July suggested 20% of beds in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and slightly lower number in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Kings Lynn and the James Paget at Gorleston are occupied by people medically fit for discharge but were waiting for a care package to be set up to allow them home, for adaptations to their property or for a place in a care home
This comes at a huge cost with the cost of a bed in an acute hospital being three times as much as a reablement, convalescent or recuperation facility, where care is provided but not medical intervention.
With regard to our representation to NHS England Property Services, the Council haven’t received any communication regarding the marketing or disposal of the facility. This however does not come as a surprise, given the ICB position was only determined at the end of September.
The Chief Executive stated that he was happy on the basis of Mr Booth’s question for the Council to instigate an approach to NHS Property Services directly to understand what their intentions for the Benjamin Court facility are as understanding their approach would be helpful to the campaigners, local stakeholders and residents so that as a Council we can consider our position further.
In the HealthWatch engagement response there was also suggestion that there was a demand for a small office for the community nursing team to be based out of in the Cromer area, which currently operated out of the Benjamin Court facility. It is felt that this could be accommodated within the Council’s offices, and we have been in contact with the service provider to see if these requirements can be met.
Cllr Adams welcomed the endorsement that the Council do seek to make contact with the NHS Property Services team and report back to Overview and Scrutiny Committee as we learn more. It is important that we keep this issue in the public domain. The winter will be very challenging in terms of the pressures put on NHS acute services across the county.
Cllr Withington asked that the Council keep monitoring the figures of those in acute hospital beds that are fit for discharge, especially in line of the virtual ward introduction. Especially as the capacity of this service is thought to only be 15 patients a day, which is not a significant number of people for a service covering the whole of North Norfolk. It will therefore be interesting to see how the service impacts on discharging people safely into the community.
Cllr Dixon confirmed that in respect to the recommendations set out by Overview and Scrutiny there was an expectation that the matter would be considered at this meeting, but there was no expectation that there was going to be an outcome but that this would be ongoing work in progress. There is a lot that has and continues to progress, and there is still some more work that can be done. Some clarity will be required in the justification of data one way or the other and we must allow time for this to happen.
Cllr Fredericks acknowledged that when we think of care and carers, we think of two or three visits during the day, but it is the night times when the individuals and carers are most at risk. It is the night times that would be the biggest benefit of this facility. It is possible to provide care during the day, but it is very difficult to get carers for nights. Having a facility that looks after vulnerable people 24 hours a day cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, at the meeting in July our voices went unheeded, and the decision was a forgone conclusion. So therefore, we must fight on and if there are other ways of using the building to the benefit of our communities we will find them.
The Chief Executive responded to Cllr Withington’s question about data collection by explaining that the Council does have a Data Analyst who is giving her attention to this. The Council are using contacts within the wider health and social care setting to build our understanding. The data shows that 200 bed nights at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (approx. 20% of all beds) are being used to care for people in hospital who are medically fit for discharge rather than in an environment where more individualised or family care could be provided, particularly in Benjamin Court where there were individual ensuite rooms where people can be supported throughout the day and night by family, partners and carers. Staff would have oversight throughout the night, but this could be ameliorated in the daytime by people who want to assist with their family member’s care.
The Chief Executive further stated that if you live in the North Norfolk District, if you have retired here or you age here, and your partner becomes incapacitated, and you are dependent on public transport, friends or neighbours to take you to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital requires a significant commitment to go to the hospital every day. The value of a facility like Benjamin Court that assists those in the North Norfolk area cannot be underestimated in terms of the quality of life and care benefits.
The value of the facility was outlined in the HealthWatch consultation process, and the submissions people submitted. The conclusion of HealthWatch Norfolk was that those issues should be investigated further by the ICB before any decision is made, but this didn’t happen.
The Chief Executive stated that he is on record as part of the Healthwatch engagement process, of saying that the Council understands that the local health and social care system is under very acute pressure but having centralised facilities in Norwich some distance from much of North Norfolk does not meet the needs of our communities and demographics.