The Scottish Government is to provide funding of £30 million to support GP practices to continue providing a high level of care to patients through winter and into next year.
The funding will help with the provision of existing GP services, including:
supporting more face-to-face appointments
extra GP sessions, practice nurse time and non-core hours covering all appointments
more administrative time and practice manager time
organised cover for reflection, learning and innovation
external GP locum sessions
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The contribution general practice makes to the health and wellbeing of communities, through continuity of care and meaningful relationships with patients, is invaluable.
“We recognise that, as face-to-face appointments have resumed and demand is increasing, surgeries are working overtime to meet patient needs.
“This support package will allow practices to target investment where it is most required to sustain the high levels of care they have always provided through what is likely to be the most challenging period in the history of the NHS.”
Chair of the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee Dr Andrew Buist said: “BMA Scotland has consistently sought a greater level of support for GPs and we are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened and taken this step in the face of the huge challenges of this winter and beyond.
“With demand continuing to outstrip capacity, this will help support practices in the coming months and plug some of the gaps caused by difficulties in recruiting to practice teams.
“It is particularly good GPs have flexibility to focus funding on what will make the most difference to their practice and their patients. As we look ahead to next year and the ongoing threat to the sustainability of practices, this is a welcome addition we have secured in negotiation with the Government.”
The support package will be given in two instalments of £15 million, in December 2021 and April 2022.
The number of Baby Boxes delivered to expectant parents has reached 200,000. The milestone comes after independent evaluation showed overwhelming backing for the box and its contents.
Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “We are proud that the 200,000th Baby Box has been delivered to a family preparing to welcome their wee one. It means that 200,000 newborns and their parents have now benefitted from a range of essential items.
“The Baby Box is part of our commitment to making sure that every child, no matter what their circumstances, has the best start in life. Deliveries of the boxes have continued throughout the pandemic, supporting parents at a time when many may be facing additional financial worries or having to cope without as much face-to-face support from family and friends.
“Last year, a record 98% of expectant parents requested a Baby Box, a big rise on the 85% when they were first launched in 2017.
“This is a further vote of confidence for the scheme following the independent evaluation that showed how much parents value the Baby Box and its contents.”
One Parent Families Scotland CEO Satwat Rehman said: “The fact that all babies in Scotland are gifted a box full of essential items means that as a society we want every child, regardless of their circumstances, to get the best start in life.
“We fully support this positive public health initiative that has the potential, through its universal approach, to make a contribution to the reduction of inequalities at the start of a baby’s life.
“Parents have told us that receiving the box made them feel the Government ‘cares about families’.”
A Baby Box is offered to all newborns in Scotland.
It provides families with a range of essential items for their first six months, delivered in a sturdy cardboard box, which can be used as a safe sleeping space during the early months of a baby’s life. The contents of the Baby Box are designed to inform and support positive parenting behaviours.
In an independent evaluation, 97% of parents who took part in research rated the box and its contents as good. Parents highlighted benefits of the box, including saving them money on essential items for newborns and helping with information on child health and development.
Around 776,579 people adults in Scotland have been diagnosed with high blood pressure in Scotland, with many more remaining undiagnosed and unaware.
That’s extremely worrying to our charity as high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of stroke.
One of the ways to reduce blood pressure is to reduce your sodium intake. Most of this sodium is in the salt we eat and that’s why we’re proud to support Season with Sense, a public health campaign which aims to drive down consumer sodium intake.
The good news is that by making small changes to our diet – such as cutting the amount or type of salt – we can greatly reduce our risk of serious health issues.
If you find it hard to cut out salt completely, there are alternatives to regular table, sea and rock salts such as LoSalt® which has two thirds less sodium without any taste compromise.
When you’re out shopping, watch out for the special tubs of LoSalt® on sale in supermarkets. For every tub sold a 20p donation will be made to help fund the vital work we do to support stroke survivors and carers.
The tubs will also have information attached to help shoppers understand the FAST test. Face, Arms, Speech, are the most common signs that someone is having a stroke. Time tells you that Stroke is a medical emergency and you must phone 999 straight away. We are thrilled that this vital information will be getting into the hands of 150,000 people.
Please do note that if you take some types of medication that affect potassium levels, LoSalt® and other reduced sodium salt alternatives may not be suitable for you. This includes people receiving medication for diabetes, heart or kidney disorders. Check with your GP for advice.
John Watson
Associate Director Scotland, The Stroke Association
Nearly two thirds of A&Es across the UK had ambulances waiting to transfer patients every day in the past week, according to a new survey from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
The latest RCEM survey covers the period 8 November to 14 November 2021 and was sent to Clinical Leads in Emergency Departments across the UK and received 70 responses.
The NHS mandates that ambulance handovers ought to be reliably completed within 15 minutes of arrival, but 61% of Emergency Departments in the survey were struggling to meet this standard every day.
The survey also found that over half of Emergency Departments had provided care to patients in non-designated areas such as corridors every day in the past week.
These findings come following a report by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) which found that 160,000 patients may be coming to harm annually as a result of ambulance handover delays.
While a separate report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, ‘Crowding and its Consequences’, found that at least 4,519 patients have died as a result of dangerous crowding in Emergency Departments in England in 2020-2021.
14% of respondents stated that the longest stay they had had in their Emergency Department was between 48 and 72 hours
36% of respondents stated the longest stay in their Emergency Department was 24 to 48 hours
39% of respondents stated the longest stay in their Emergency Department was 12 to 24 hours
14% of respondents stated that there was no effective Same Day Emergency Care available in their Emergency Department
50% of respondents stated that Same Day Emergency Care had limited availability, less than 12 hours a day or weekdays only in their Emergency Department
71% of respondents stated that they were unable to maintain social distancing for patients in their Emergency Department in the past week
Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said:“These results show the serious state that our urgent and emergency care system is in.
“None of us want to have patients held in ambulances, treated in corridors, or waiting very long times to go up to a ward bed. Sadly, these findings support our stark report on crowding and the AACE’s shocking report on ambulance handovers.
“We all need to work together to solve this acute patient safety problem. We believe enacting many of the suggestions we have made in RCEM CARES: The Next Phase will help. We want patients to feel confident that their Emergency Care system is there for them, but this winter is going to be a huge challenge unless we can get flow back into the system.
“RCEM CARES: The Next Phase details our system-wide plan to tackle the current crisis and improve patient care as well as staff wellbeing. In the short-term, to promote flow and to reduce handover delays, capacity must be expanded in a safe way. Same Day Emergency Care must be made available at all Trusts and they must expand its provision, so it is available 12 hours a day, seven days a week. While maximising the service Discharge to Assess will allow patients to be discharged in a timely and supported way.
“In the long-term, we urge the government to publish a long-term workforce plan, this must include actions to retain existing staff as well as recruit new staff. Across the UK there is a shortfall of 2,000-2,500 WTE Emergency Medicine consultants, and crucially, there are also widespread shortages of Emergency Medicine nurses and both junior and supporting staff. At the same time capacity is severely depleted across the UK. The government must restore bed capacity to pre-pandemic levels, this requires an additional 7,170 beds across the UK.
“This is only the beginning of winter and of what may come. We are facing a crisis in urgent and emergency care and a crisis of patient safety. The Secretary of State in the House of Commons spoke of ‘a duty to avoid preventable harm of everyone working in health and social care’, we urge him to act on his own words and prevent avoidable harm and ensure the safety of patients.”
Managing Director of AACE Martin Flaherty OBE QAM said:“These alarming new figures from RCEM underline once again the unprecedented pressures facing the entire urgent and emergency care system.
“We now know that excessive handover delays and crowding in A&E departments are routinely harming patients, some very severely. To resolve this, we need system leaders to further toughen their resolve to deal with this problem once and for all and as a matter of priority and we await details of progress being made in this area, while underlining our commitment to work as part of the solution to this complex issue.”
Tracy Nicholls, Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics, said:“We must not forget that behind all these mounting figures are real people, both staff and patients, who are bearing the brunt of this continuing strain on services.
“Reform must happen to alleviate the intolerable pressure and reduce the guilt many paramedics and Emergency Department staff feel about dealing with patients who are waiting outside Emergency Departments or, more worryingly, in the community.
“We support any efforts to deal with the here and now, but we commit to working with stakeholders and partners to make real change happen.”
Financial support for families of children with a disability now available nationwide
Child Disability Payment opens for new applications across the country from today. For the first time anywhere in the UK, disability benefit applicants can apply online, as well as by phone, post or face-to-face.
This is the first of three complex disability benefits to be introduced nationwide by the Scottish Government. This new payment replaces the UK Government’s Disability Living Allowance for children.
Those already receiving Disability Living Allowance for children do not need to apply. These approximately 52,000 current cases are being automatically transferred in phases from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland. This will be completed by spring 2023.
Child Disability Payment, which will be administered by Social Security Scotland, provides families with support for extra costs that a disabled child might have.
The national roll out to all local authority areas follows successful pilots in Dundee City, Perth & Kinross and the Western Isles.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “I’m really pleased that Child Disability Payment is now available to eligible families all over Scotland.
“This is a significant milestone in the introduction of our new social security system. Families who find themselves in need of support will be able to access this help in a way that suits them best.
“Those who currently receive Disability Living Allowance for children from the DWP will also be transferred to Social Security Scotland. They will be told when this is happening and will find their payments transferred safely and securely within the next 18 months. Payments will be made at the same rate and there will be no break in entitlement.
“In the months and years ahead thousands of families will benefit from our simplified and much less stressful system, which will treat everyone with dignity, fairness and respect.
“Social security is a shared investment in building a fairer Scotland and we encourage those who are eligible for support to apply.”
Vaccination teams in Lothian are gearing up for the next stage of the programme which allows eligible patients to make their own appointments.
Patients from the new cohort group will be able to book their own time slot in advance and choose their venue for their lifesaving COVID-19 Booster and flu vaccine.
People aged 50 to 59, those who are 16 or over and are an unpaid carer and teenagers over 16 and are a household contact of an immunosuppressed person are being urged to log on to NHS Inform and book their COVID booster and flu jabs for the last days of November or December.
At the same time, more people aged 60-69 across Lothian will continue to receive an appointment letter for a slot within the next two weeks.
Extra staff are being recruited and capacity has been boosted across Lothian to service the next phase of the expanding programme.
Nearly 150,000 appointments have already been made available on the national portal for people to book throughout this winter and this number will continue to rise each week.
To date, across Lothian 213,806 doses of the flu vaccination and around 173,191 COVID-19 booster vaccines have already been delivered. This is in addition to 708,605 first and 650,663 second doses of the COVID vaccine.
Pat Wynne, Nurse Director of Primary and Community Care, NHS Lothian said “All of our teams are working phenomenally hard to ensure they can continue to deliver the lifesaving vaccines as quickly as possible during this next stage.
“It is no small task – the teams are administering different types of first, second, third and booster doses of the COVID vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time as drop-in clinics and during pre-arranged appointments to people of all ages. The logistics of this vital work are complex and we are really grateful to all of them for the work they are doing.
“Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and loved ones from the viruses and will help to reduce additional pressures on the NHS this winter.
“We urge everyone who is eligible to make sure they take up their appointment. Whether they keep the slot on their letter or make their own appointment through the online portal or on the national telephone helpline, we need them to get vaccinated.
“If you are an Edinburgh resident and are able to travel, please book your appointment at Edinburgh’s mass vaccination centre at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston. This will ensure appointment slots are available at more local vaccination for those who need them.”
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that people aged 40-49 will also be eligible for a COVID-19 booster.
They will be offered the booster vaccine once the earlier agreed priority groups have had their injections to ensure the most vulnerable groups are offered protection first. They will be able to book their own appointments using the online portal.
The JCVI has also advised that young people aged 16 and 17 years old will also be eligible for a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and a timetable will shortly be confirmed.
NHS Lothian is working closely with the four health and social care partnerships which are responsible for the delivery of the programme – flu vaccination is no longer being carried out by local GP practices.
The number of available local venues is being extended, with the launch of a drop-in clinic at Ocean Terminal, and vaccination clinics are being streamlined to increase capacity as teams prepare for the next intake.
Lowland Hall, for example will boost the number of available appointments from 17,000 appointments per week to 19,000, by increasing vaccination stations from 26 to 35.
The launch of the portal comes as the remaining people in Lothian aged 70 and above and those at highest risk are being invited to step forward for appointments during the last two weeks in November.
Patients are being urged to keep their appointment once booked, but if they cannot attend they are being urged to reschedule by calling the national vaccination helpline. They can also book an appointment using the same number of access help and advice on 0800 030 8013.
Ahead of World Pancreatic Cancer Day on November 18th I’m writing to highlight the importance of learning the symptoms of this devastating disease.
Worryingly, our new survey tells us that nearly a third of people in the UK would wait three months or more to seek help from their GP if they had potential symptoms of pancreatic cancer. That’s at least three times longer than recommended.
The findings also show that the pandemic is actively deterring people from contacting their doctor, with 31% saying they would delay seeking help for longer than usual. Pancreatic cancer symptoms – which can include tummy and back pain, indigestion. unexplained weight loss and oily floating poo – are common to less serious health conditions and, tragically many people are diagnosed too late for lifesaving treatment.
In Scotland nearly 1,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year.
I would urge anyone who experiences some, or all, of these symptoms persistently for more than four weeks to contact their GP. Early diagnosis is vital to give people the very best chance of survival.
Pancreatic Cancer UK have made a short video explaining the symptoms we all need to look out for. Please watch and share it with your loved ones.
It could help someone be diagnosed in time for lifesaving treatment.
Our Specialist nurses are here to provide support and information to anyone affected by pancreatic cancer on our confidential support line on (Freecall: 0808 801 0707).
A new report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine ‘Crowding and its Consequences’ has found that at least 4,519 patients have died as a result of crowding and 12 hour stays in Emergency Departments in England in 2020-2021.
The new report investigates the extent of harm that crowding causes and applies NHSE’s own findings from the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) program which found that one in 67 patients staying in the Emergency Department for 12 hours come to excess harm.
The report also provides comprehensive analysis on a variety of data points:
Four-hour target
12-hour waits
Decision-to-admit (DTA) waits and admissions
12-hour DTA waits vs. 12-hour time-of-arrival waits
Time to initial assessment for ambulance arrivals
Time to treatment
Median total time patients spend in Emergency Departments
Ambulance handover delays
Bed availability
Length of hospital stays
Dr Adrian Boyle, Vice President (Policy) of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said:“To say this figure (4,519 excess deaths) is shocking is an understatement. Quite simply, crowding kills.
“For many years we have issued warnings about the harm that dangerous crowding causes, but now we can see the number of excess deaths that have occurred as a result. This will not surprise any member or fellow of the Royal College.
“October 2021 saw an unimaginable 7,059 12-hour stays from decision to admit, the highest number ever recorded, 40% higher than September 2021 which was the previous highest on record. The number of 12-hour stays has risen drastically for six months and is very likely to rise again in coming months.
“The picture is more bleak as Hospital Episodic Statistics show that 12-hour stays from time of arrival are 21 times higher than 12-hour DTA stays. We now know that at least one in 67 of these patients are coming to avoidable harm. It is appalling.
“The situation is unacceptable, unsustainable and unsafe for patients and staff. Political and health leaders must realise that if performance continues to fall this winter: more and more patients will come to avoidable harm in the Emergency Department; staff will face moral injury; and the urgent and emergency care system will be deep into the worst crisis it has faced.
“This potential trajectory is supported by the recent report by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives that found that as many as 160,000 patients annually, may be coming to harm as a result of delayed ambulance handovers. We continue to urge the Secretary of State to meet with us to discuss patient safety and the unprecedented pressures facing the urgent and emergency care system.
“RCEM CARES: The Next Phase outlines our system-wide plan to improve patient care. In the short-term Trusts must safely expand capacity where possible. They must maximise the use of services such as Same Day Emergency Care and Discharge to Assess. Trusts must focus on promoting flow through the hospital, ensuring patients are discharged in a timely way once their treatment is complete.
“In the long-term, the government must restore bed capacity to pre-pandemic levels, across the UK an additional 7,170 beds are required. The government must ensure that social care is resourced to support patients both when leaving hospital and once they are back in the community, this would help to reduce long hospital stays and prevent successive trips to the Emergency Department.
“Lastly, as a matter of urgency the government must publish a long-term workforce plan, this must include actions to retain existing staff who are reaching burnout as well as to recruit new staff. Across the UK there is currently a shortfall of 2,000 – 2,500 WTE Emergency Medicine consultants, as well as shortages of essential Emergency Medicine nurses and junior and supporting staff.
“This is the beginning of a long winter and an extremely challenging time for the current workforce as pressures will rise and patient safety will continue to be put at risk. These pressures may currently be facing urgent and emergency care and the ambulance services, but the solutions and actions must be system-wide and joined-up.
“It is up to the government, NHS leaders, and all of us to work together to put a stop to dangerous crowding; avoidable harm; preventable deaths; ambulance handover harm; and to ensure that we keep patients safe and deliver effective urgent and emergency care.”
