Beechdale ward (Calderdale)

About the service

Beechdale ward is a mixed-sex inpatient unit for older people with mental health conditions. It is a ward on The Dales at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

The ward has 16 single rooms and four day areas for shorter-term treatment. The unit also provides an occupational therapy service with therapeutic activities and physiotherapy with gym facilities.

The ward has nurses, doctors, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and dietetic staff. The ward works with a team including social workers and community nurses who provide input into patient care and promote early discharge from the ward back into the community.

The ward also works closely with the intensive home-based treatment team, who can provide care in people’s homes on a daily basis if required.

Why would someone choose the service?

• 98% of people said they were treated by our service with dignity and respect.
• Our facilities are modern, designed to promote privacy and dignity, and have recently been decorated. We also have a fully equipped gym and occupational therapy department for patients to use.
• Our staff will help you work at your own pace and always respect your wishes.
• We run creativity sessions that all service users can take part in and we hold regular exhibitions of work.
• Over 90% of patients said we had fully met their expectations.
• We work closely with Huddersfield University, providing care, education and treatment in line with the latest research.
• 79% of people we worked with are now in training, education or work.
• We provide ‘person-centred care’ – we develop a care plan around the needs of the service user and, if relevant, their carer(s).
• We work in a way that is focused on recovery putting service users and carers at the heart of what we do. We listen and act on what they have to say about our services and the way they are delivered.
• Our service is responsive 24/7.
• We work closely with many other agencies to ensure the best outcomes for service users and carers.

Staff you may meet

Activity co-ordinator

Activity co-ordinators are responsible for implementing a range of therapeutic activities. Examples of activities provided include social, recreational, leisure, communication, sensory or educational sessions.

Administrator

Administrative staff provide essential support to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. This can be in a variety of different settings, with administrators working as a receptionist in a clinic or a clerk on a ward. They may also be working closely with a consultant as a medical secretary.

Dietitian

Dietitians use the science of food to help people to make good choices about food and lifestyle. Nutrition is an important part of recovery and wellbeing. All service users admitted to a Trust ward have their nutritional state assessed.

Doctor

There are more than 60 different specialities that doctors work within the NHS. Each is unique but there are many characteristics which are common. Roles range from working in a hospital to being based in the community as a GP.

Domestic

Domestic staff have a vital role in helping to care for patients. They work in one of three key areas; catering, cleaning or laundry services. All of these services play an important part in aiding an individual’s recovery.

Housekeeper

Housekeepers help nurses run hospital wards. They are a member of a ward team and support the delivery of clinical care by ensuring the ward is a clean, safe and attractive place which is conducive to patient care.

Non-clinical support staff

There are many people who work behind the scenes to keep services running and you may meet them in hospital or community settings. They include porters, cleaners, plumbers, electricians, decorators receptionists and secretaries who all work to make sure healthcare settings are kept clean, tidy and safe.

Nurse

Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.

Nursing assistant

Nursing or healthcare assistants work in hospital or community settings under the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional. They help doctors, nurses and therapists give people the care and treatment they need.

Occupational therapist

Occupational therapy is the assessment and treatment of physical and psychiatric conditions using specific, purposeful activity to prevent disability and promote independent function in all aspects of daily life.

Other clinical staff

The NHS employs a wide range of clinical staff, it wouldn’t be possible to list them all on this website! All our clinical staff are skilled, dedicated professionals who adhere to high standards of training and work-place practice.

Physiotherapist

Physiotherapists help people to improve their range of movement in order to promote health and well being. This can help people to live more independently.

Porter

Porters work within the Trust facilities team moving and delivering post, equipment and medication to locations across the organisation. They also help to move frail and often very ill patients between different departments and wards in safety and comfort.

Psychologist

Receptionist

Receptionists are the first link for many patients and visitors. They often work on their own or with one or two other receptionists, greeting patients as they arrive and check them in. They might also collect patient notes and ensure that these vital records go to the right healthcare professional. In a clinic, they may make appointments and arrange patient transport.

Social worker

Social workers help, support and protect people who are facing difficulties in their lives. They help people to take positive steps to overcome problems and improve their lives. This could involve assessing and reviewing a service user’s situation, building relationships with service users and their families and agreeing what practical support someone needs.

Specialist advisor

We have a range of specialist advisors working in our Trust – they give advice on a wide range of different things, depending on what service they work in. So it could be, for example, mental health, stopping smoking, healthy eating or diabetes.

Specialist health worker

We have a range of health workers who all have different specialities. This could be in a certain condition, a therapy or the advice they can give you. Our specialists our highly skilled and trained professionals, ready to offer you help and advice whenever you need it.

Support worker