A national award-winning residential home in Atherstone mentioned in G8 summit talks on living with dementia has welcomed the roll-out of an initiative to help with future hospital stays for people in care.

Merevale House is considering taking the 'Red Bag' scheme "on board" to make visits to the George Eliot faster and more effective.

The bags, which contain everything from vital 'standardised' personal information and pyjamas to medical notes and slippers, are handed to ambulance crews by carers and travel with patients to A&E where they are then passed onto the doctor.

Warwickshire County Council has approved the project which began as a pilot in south west London five years ago and has now gone country-wide in an example of how the NHS is integrating care with the creation of a seamless pathway – so people only have to tell their story once to health personnel.

The initiative has already shown how it can slash days off hospital stays by assisting hospital staff in working to a quicker discharge, as they are continuously reminded that the patient is a care home resident.

It also stops patients losing personal items.

Hospital staff at the Eliot offered positive feedback from a 'pop-up' information event held outside the hospital restaurant, Raveloes.

And Merevale House – which has won an array of awards for innovation and best practice including Best Dementia Care Home, referred to in NICE guidelines as well as winning global recognition at a G8 summit discussion on dementia during David Cameron's time as UK prime minister – welcomed the hospital's involvement in the roll-out.

Registered manager Nicki Culverwell at the Old Watling Street home specialising in dementia care told Nub News: "We have looked at the scheme before.

"But now the George Eliot hospital has been briefed, then we will definitely look to taking it on board.

"It is very useful. Normally we wouldn't let glasses or dentures go to the hospital because as a rule our people don't come back with them."

County Councillor Les Caborn, the adult social care portfolio holder for the aurthority, said: "The thinking behind the Red Bag is very simple, however it has the potential to be so important for care home residents who require a hospital stay and could be assessed by numerous staff over a number of days.

"Having all of the pertinent details about a patient in one stand-out place enables staff to take the best choices for that patient, and likewise, their care home will be able to carry on doing so when the patient has come back.

"It helps provide quicker discharges, making sure patients are getting home promptly."