A new suite of beds run by West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has opened at a care home.
The new suite, part of Glastonbury Court care home in Bury St Edmunds, contains 20 beds and is managed by hospital staff.
The unit will offer medically fit patients from the hospital a period of reablement and rehabilitation before they are discharged home.
Sharon Basson, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust's senior matron, said: 'This is one of the trust's key innovations to support the management of winter pressures. Hospitals across the country are coping with increased numbers of patients, many of whom are older people who need additional care but not necessarily in an acute hospital setting before returning home.'
The unit was opened by Dora Leeder, one of its first patients. A multi-disciplinary medical team will support the unit.
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