A £3.9m action plan is being rolled out across NHS Lothian in a bid to prepare for the busiest time of the year.
A detailed strategy has been put in place to manage the predicted increases in demand and ensure that patients continue to receive the highest quality health care while in hospital or in the community this Winter.
Extra nurses and consultants have been recruited, capacity increased, new clinics created and patient routes to treatment have been reviewed to help services respond to the challenges ahead.
Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “We know that the numbers of patients increase sharply over the winter months so we have implemented a plan that allows our frontline and community services to react.
“All of our services have to work together to ensure that patients can access the vital care they need when they need it most. We can only do that if our teams are prepared and have the necessary resources.
“Every day our teams perform vital, lifesaving work, but we know they will come under increased pressure over winter. We have planned ahead to support them and to allow them to continue to provide the high quality, patient-centred care we are all so proud of.”
The planning process started earlier this year in Lothian with a refreshed approach to developing the Winter Strategy, which was agreed at a board meeting of NHS Lothian on Wednesday.
The £3.9m has been allocated to services across Lothian to make sure they can respond to the increased demand over the winter months.
Each service and directorate from across the acute sector has joined forces with health and social care partnerships to create the dedicated Winter plan.
General patient flow, the discharge process and preventative care to reduce admission to hospital in the first instance have all been targeted.
Planning for winter began in May and took on board many lessons learned from last winter including the “Beast From The East” experience at the beginning of the year to create an updated plan.
As a result, extra staff have been appointed, more clinics created and transport provision increased to prepare for the increasing demand over winter.
Extra patient safety briefings have also been introduced to help staff identify earlier when services are stretched and take action to mitigate that rising demand.
Extra local community resource has been identified, Saturday GP opening will be initiated in some practices, as well as home visits and the creation of a dedicated walk-in clinic over the festive season.
NHS Lothian faces a £43 million financial shortfall next year, Board papers have revealed.
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