Attending the Short Term Care Centre

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This page explains what you can expect if you are admitted to the Short Term Care Centre (STCC).

What can I expect?

If you are arriving from the hospital, then your discharge and transport arrangements will be discussed with you (and a family member or carer if you wish) and you will be discharged with the care and support you need to a bed in the Short Term Care Centre (STCC).

If you are arriving from your home, then your transport arrangements will be discussed with you (and a family member or carer if you wish) and will be placed with the care and support you need to a bed in the STCC.

What can you do to help?

The STCC can provide care provided for you with up to 28 days of accommodation and care to support your recovery to return home. You will be expected to engage fully with the care team members who are easily recognisable by their name badges and their branded work tops. The care team will work as part of a multi-disciplinary therapeutic team to support your recovery and return home as soon as possible.

Please tell the care staff in advance if you or your family have any requirements. For example, a disability or you need an interpreter, and we will do our best to help.

If you require a special diet, please let the care staff know 24 hours before your admission.

What should you bring with you?

There is an expectation that you bring the following items with you:

One week's worth of comfortable clothes or tracksuit
Inhaler, tablets or medicines you are taking.
Night clothes, slippers (non-slip) and dressing gown.
Toiletries (for example, towel, soap, flannel, toothbrush, toothpaste hairbrush, shaving kit).
Spectacles/hearing aids/ contact lenses if you use them.
Change for phone calls, newspapers etc.
Something to read.
Continence products (for example, pads & pants, catheter bags) if you use them.
Charger for your mobile phone

Please try to avoid bringing valuables or large sums of money into STCC. If this is not possible, please give them to the carer to take to the staff office for safekeeping. We cannot accept responsibility for items that are lost if you don't ask us to look after them.

What are the bedroom suites like?

You will have your own private bedroom and ensuite shower room that will be accessible by key card. This key card[DW2] will be issued to you on arrival and returned upon your discharge from the STCC.

Each bedroom will have basic furniture and fittings:

Bed
Bedside table - 3 drawer unit, top drawer lockable.
Wall-mounted lockable medicine cabinet
Built-in wardrobe and separate drawer units
High back chair (2?) and small coffee table
Mirrored bathroom cabinet
TV in each room

What services are available?

The STCC will provide three meals a day. If you have any special dietary requirements, it is important to let your key worker know this.

There is a communal dining room on each floor of the STCC for breakfast and dinner. The Age UK Plymouth Dining Room on the ground floor is available for a hot lunch. If you are unable to use the dining rooms then you will be able to eat in your room.

Cleaning service for your bedroom suite and the communal areas.

Laundry service for your clothes, bedding and towels during your stay.

The nighttime monitoring system in all rooms helps us to be more responsive to your needs. This operates for bedtime hours if you give permission. It means that we don't need to disturb you during the night unless you need us because a microphone in your room will pick up any sounds (for example if you call out or fall) which will then trigger an alert to our night manager that indicates you may need help.

Wi-Fi is available throughout the STCC and all public areas. To log on to the Wi-Fi you need to choose the network called "XXXXX" and enter "XXXXX" for the password. This is for visitors and guests.

Are friends and family allowed to visit me?

People staying at the STCC are encouraged to receive visitors and to make use of all the communal and household facilities here. We encourage visiting between the hours of 09:00 and 20:00 to minimise sleep disturbance for fellow residents. However, if you would like to visit, or have visitors, outside this time, then the café facilities on the ground floor are available from 07:00 to 19:00 hours a day.

Is there any car parking for visitors?

There are a limited number of car parking spaces in the STCC car park, however, there is free parking available on the nearby roads. You can pull up near the STCC entrance if you are dropping or collecting someone with limited mobility. There are some disabled parking spaces located in the car park, but these are limited.

Access to the building

If you are visiting for the first time, please ring the bell marked STCC at the lower ground floor side entrance. A member of STCC staff will answer to confirm who you are here to visit and let you into the building reception area. Then follow the signs for the STCC which is on the first and second floor and can be accessed by lift and stairs. To exit the building please use the same lower ground floor side entrance, pressing the exit button on the left side near the door to release the external door.

Where is the Short Term Care Centre?

The STCC is based on the top two floors of the William and Patricia Venton Centre, Astor Drive, Mount Gould Road, Plymouth, PL4 9RD. The building is owned by Age UK Plymouth and is near Mount Gould Hospital.

How to get in touch

If you have any concerns or need to speak to someone about your care, you can contact your key worker whose details will be given on their first visit to you.

A copy of the compliments and complaints policy will be available in your bedroom suite, or you can request a copy from a member of the care team.

You and your family or carers can also contact the STCC directly using the contact details provided below.

STCC email address:
STCC Tel:

The Duty Manager is also available onsite between 9 am to 8 pm every day of the week. Their name will be displayed at the reception, and they will generally be based in the staff office on the first floor although sometimes they do get called away to manage situations around the home.

Smoking and vaping

Vaping or smoking is not permitted in any communal or living area within the building. There will be designated smoking and vaping areas outside of the STCC. Smoking items should be stored safely in line with STCC smoking risk assessment.

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