The Harbour’s made a big splash during its first month
In October’s Healthy Futures we told you about our new community frailty service, called The Harbour, which opened at Newton Abbot Community Hospital last month.
The Harbour brings together clinicians under one roof to provide specialist frailty care, holistic assessments, urgent care and diagnostics. People will also be supported by our frailty virtual ward to provide their care closer to home, and as a safe and effective alternative to a hospital admission.
During its first four weeks, more than 113 older people who are living with frailty have been supported by or received care at The Harbour, and we’re already seeing the positive impact it’s having in our communities.
The team has so far received 138 calls from care homes, the ambulance service, and colleagues working in our acute and community hospitals to see if any of their patients are suitable to receive their care at The Harbour instead of at the acute hospital. After assessing the patient’s needs, 52 people received care from another service, including our frailty virtual ward, 5 patients were admitted to a community hospital bed, 11 people received advice and guidance so they could stay at home and 61 people were supported by the most appropriate service for their care.
The initial feedback from patients, their families and colleagues has been overwhelmingly positive, with one relative saying they were grateful their loved one was able to receive end of life care.
Dr Kath Bhatt, our clinical lead for The Harbour, said: “I am so proud of what The Harbour service has achieved during its first month.
“We know that older people who are living with frailty are at higher risk of losing independence, getting infections, and having memory decline while in hospital and they often express a preference to receive their care at home if at all possible. The Harbour has enabled us to better identify and support these patients using our excellent community-first pathways, wrapping health and care teams around the patient closer to home as a safe and effective alternative to acute hospital admission.
“Feedback from our patients, their families and carers has shown what a positive experience they have had using the Harbour service. We have also had an overwhelmingly positive response from clinical referrers, particularly about the timely access to Harbour clinicians for supportive, shared risk-holding conversations, enabling us to work together to find the best option for our patients.“
The service will continue to develop in the new year, including introducing a new same day emergency care space at Newton Abbot Hospital for people living with frailty who need urgent diagnostic, assessment and hospital interventions as an alternative to coming to Torbay Hospital.
Torbay’s adult social care services rates as Good by the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Torbay’s Adult Social Care services as ‘Good’ following an inspection in September 2025, reflecting strong performance in co-production, integration, and person-centred care.
We have provided adult social care services in Torbay on behalf of Torbay Council for the past 10 years, as part of a unique partnership between the NHS and local authority.
The CQC inspection uses a four-point rating system: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. The inspection covered working with people, providing support, ensuring safety and leadership and workforce and Torbay was rated as good across all areas.
Key findings from the inspection included:
- people and unpaid carers universally reporting positive experiences, with carers expressing very high satisfaction
- a deep integration with health services under a Section 75 agreement since 2005 which enabled joined-up care and shared resources
- strong partnerships with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector
- person-centred assessments which focused on independence and long-term goals
- effective arrangements to prevent, delay, or reduce care needs, including community-based support and welfare advice
- strong focus on hospital discharge and recovery at home, supported by a new reablement facility.
Chief Executive Joe Teape said: “I am so proud of our people who work tirelessly to ensure people in Torbay who receive adult social care swiftly and with compassion. Our people are committed to doing all they can to ensure people receive the care they need, in their home and in their community, supported by technology. I am so pleased that our work to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and to get people discharged and back home quickly was described as excellent.
“This report is testament to the hard work and commitment of our colleagues and demonstrates what can be achieved through integrated working. I would like to thank my colleagues for all their hard work.”
Councillor Hayley Tranter, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health, Inequalities and Communities, said: “We are very pleased to be rated ‘Good’ for our Adult Social Care services here in Torbay.
“I would like to congratulate and thank all those who work in the service locally, all our partners across the NHS, our commissioned care providers and community and voluntary sector, and also all the people who access our services who took the time to speak to the CQC during their visit and share their own thoughts on our services.
“Our vision is for thriving communities where people prosper, and while we know there is always more room for improvement, this Good rating gives us the confidence to take what we already do well and build on this to continue to improve.
“I am so pleased that the CQC has recognised the benefits of the integrated way that we work with our NHS partners, building on our 20-year journey to provide seamless community services for the people of Torbay. This sets Torbay up well for the future development of neighbourhood based team working in line with the Department of Health and Social Care 10 year plan.”
You can read more at: Torbay Adult Social Care Services rated as ‘Good’ by Care Quality Commission