Tag: NHS support

Support for NHS during ‘most difficult winter’

New remote monitoring tools to support people with Covid to stay safely at home, and free up hospital beds are among a range of steps being put in place to support the health and care workforce and maximise capacity.

Measures include £500,000 to fund 25,000 remote monitoring kits, including additional pulse oximeters, and a dedicated team which will support the early identification of patients who would benefit from antivirals treatments and get these started as soon as possible. This will free up beds in acute hospitals. 

COVID admissions are rising at a rate 45% faster than they did last winter, and this combined with existing winter pressures is creating significant demand on hospitals. A large spike in staff absence relating to COVID is also significantly impacting NHS service provision.

In addition to the investment in remote monitoring, the Scottish Government will also expand existing programmes, including Hospital at Home, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) services for managing infections and Community Respiratory pathways.  These services allow patients to be treated in their own home and to receive the relevant treatment without admission to hospital.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The next few weeks will probably be amongst the most difficult our NHS has ever faced in its 73 year existence. We are facing pressure on a number of fronts.

“Modelling suggests that infections and associated staff absences due to the coronavirus could peak by mid-January. Treating more people who previously may have been admitted to hospital at home with anti-virals and suitable support is essential to free up capacity in our hospitals.

“We know Discharge Without Delay has made a significant impact in some parts of the country and rolling it out to all health boards will make a major difference. Local contingency plans are in place to focus on the redeployment of available clinical and support services staff to essential services. 

“All of this  builds on work already underway as part of our £300 million investment in health and care services as part of winter preparations, to help maximise capacity, support the wellbeing of our fantastic health and care staff, support flow through the system and improve outcomes.”

Additional £482 million funding to tackle COVID-19 in Scotland

The Scottish Government is allocating a further £482 million to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities to meet costs of the pandemic and remobilising health services.

This includes funding for Test and Protect and to support the progress of the vaccination programme.

It comes on top of £2.1 billion provided to date to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities to support additional Covid-19 costs. Further funding will be provided as necessary over the course of the year.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Our frontline health and care workers have been remarkable throughout the pandemic, and we continue to support NHS Boards and Integration Authorities to deliver and remobilise vital services as we approach the toughest winter the system has potentially ever experienced.

“This £482 million includes just over £121 million for Test and Protect and a further £136 million for the vaccination programme. The rest of the funding will cover costs including additional staffing to support hospital scale-up, equipment, maintenance and IT.”

New PHP Community Impact Fund is open for grant applications

A new Scotland-wide fund supports charitable organisations providing social, emotional and practical help within their communities with grants up to £10,000.

Scotland is one of two pilot regions in the UK to offer the new PHP Community Impact Fund thanks to Primary Health Properties PLC (PHP). PHP is a Real Estate Investment Trust supporting the NHS in the delivery of primary care buildings, which positively impact the health and wellbeing of the communities they are located in.  

Grants are available to charities and community groups that deliver social prescribing and community wellbeing initiatives to the communities served by the primary care centres owned by PHP. 

Social prescribing enables a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. It allows GPs and other frontline healthcare professionals to refer patients to a link worker to explore ‘social prescription’ options. Many services provided by the voluntary and community sector can offer solutions to improve patients health and wellbeing. 

Examples of services activities that can be included in social prescribing schemes include healthy eating advice and cooking classes, mindfulness activities, music classes, sports and exercise groups, gardening, therapeutic art activities, book clubs, and Men’s Sheds.

Social prescribing is an innovative and growing movement with the potential to reduce the financial burden on the NHS and particularly on primary care. Social prescribing also plays a vital role in helping communities recover and rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic, particularly given the increased demand for services to support mental health and combat loneliness.

Grants are available for social and charitable activities and services that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of patients and communities surrounding the 38 different PHP locations across Scotland. The fund also looks to support the education, promotion and protection of good health within these communities.

Helen Wray, Head of Programmes at Foundation Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to partner with PHP to establish this new fund in Scotland. The new Community Impact Fund has launched at a critical time following the height of the pandemic.

“As our NHS continues to be under immense pressure, this is a fantastic initiative from PHP to help improve patient wellbeing outcomes, quality of life and emotional wellbeing.”

The fund is open until 25th October, offering grants up to £10,000 to charitable organisations within a 10-mile radius of PHP’s 38 locations across Scotland.

Their locations range from Dingwall in the Highlands down to Gretna Green in Dumfriesshire. 

To find out more and make an application, visit:

https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/community-impact-fund

Retailer donates 5,000 compression socks to help frontline nurses

A Glasgow online travel retailer whose sales have dropped 95 per cent in the past two weeks has donated 5,000 pairs of compression socks to help Scots nurses combat Covid-19.

Worth £125,000, the colourful knee-length socks will help 5,000 acute nurses in six hospitals across Scotland fight fatigue in the coming weeks.

And the firm has pledged to give away 5,000 more in the next seven days to nurses in London, bringing the total to 10,000 (£250,000).

Trtl (pronounced ‘turtle’) has donated the compression socks to acute nurses at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Royal Alexandra Hospital (Paisley) and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan. Each hospital has received 1,000.

In addition, nurses at Edinburgh Royal will take 1,000 while Trtl has given 500 to nurses at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital and 500 to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The award-winning company, which employs 30 people in Glasgow, had stockpiled thousands of the socks in advance of its peak summer season.

But with sales stalling due to the Covid-19 pandemic and little prospect of travel bans being rescinded any time soon, CEO Michael Corrigan decided to use them to support frontline nurses in his home city, across Scotland and in worst-hit London instead.

He explained: “Although the compression socks have been most popular with airline travellers, at the start of this year we ran a small campaign with nurses around the world and they were really happy with them.

“Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about how we can contribute in what is the biggest crisis many of us will face in our lifetimes.

“When something like this happens it very rapidly puts things into perspective.

“Nurses across the UK will be tested as never before in the coming weeks and if we can do something to help make the time they spend on their feet more comfortable, we must.

“I couldn’t just see these socks sitting in a warehouse when they could be helping people saving lives. That’s what’s important, and nurses need all the help they can get just now.”

John Stuart is the chief nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He said: “We are under no illusions about what we are going to face in the weeks to come.

“Our nurses work incredibly hard and can spend hours and hours on the move during every shift.

“With these compression socks we can help our staff alleviate some of the discomfort and aches associated with being on your feet for long periods of time and help them better face the challenges that are coming our way with Covid-19.

“Any gesture like this can help boost morale and hopefully the colourful designs will help brighten the days of our nursing staff.”

A 2015 study found that the average NHS worker walks 3.6 miles a day with some recording up to 11 miles.

Nurses regularly work 12-hour shifts and wearing compression socks reduces leg soreness, swollen ankles and varicose veins.

Established in 2013, Trtl is majority-owned-and-run by founder Michael Corrigan (32), who was born on Glasgow’s south side.

Best known for its Trtl Travel Pillow, which has sold 1.6M worldwide, Trtl sells a range of travel items from compression socks to packing pods. Most of its products are bought online through trtltravel.com and retailers such as Amazon.

The company won Small Exporter of the Year at the Scottish Export Awards in 2018.

Michael added: “This may be the biggest challenge we will ever face as a generation and how we react as individuals and collectively could define us in the years to come.”