Hawkinge House
Proactive Assessment Unit (PAU)

Assessment in the community as an alternative to hospital

The Proactive Assessment Unit (PAU) enables NHS patients to have their care needs to be professionally assessed in a caring, friendly and homely environment without remaining in an acute hospital bed.

What does the PAU do?

  1. Provides an environment for patients’ assessments that feels like an extension of their home rather than a hospital – “Home from Home”
  2. Enhanced professional assessment and recuperation for patients in a safer and calmer, family-friendly environment than in an acute hospital, but more clinically focussed than a care home with enhanced, dedicated GP support
  3. Provides a high quality safe environment for complex patients in place of them returning home, reducing A&E attendances and readmissions
  4. Access to the patient’s own GP records during their stay to ensure seamless carer
  5. 24-hour, 7 days a week nurse led service with advanced nurses monitoring enhanced clinical needs
  6. Assessment and input from dedicated in-house physiotherapists and occupational therapist professionals
  7. The dedicated discharge team investigates care packages to enable individuals to be discharged safely in the community, including self-funded care
  8. Will have access to an innovative state of the art hydrotherapy pool and gym which is under construction

How does the PAU do this?

  1. Dedicated liaison managers are responsible for ensuring all care needs, wishes and preferences are met during their stay, ensuring a very person-centred approach
  2. Additional GP support to ensure that clinical needs are met in a timely, proactive manner
  3. Additional physiotherapy and occupational therapy support for assessment (including home assessment) to enable patients to return home safely
  4. Additional medical and psychiatric consultant input when appropriate
  5. Access to community resources such as podiatry, chiropody, eye and hearing aid assessment
  6. Access to onsite hairdressing

What does a Care Suite in the PAU look like?

Click the buttons on the diagram below.

PAU map bathroom family-friendly dining-table tv bed

Our Statement of Purpose

Our Statement of Purpose will tell you about the Home, our aims and objectives, together with our philosophy of care. It also includes a description of the services and facilities on offer at the home.

Download document (PDF)