Tag: winter preparations

Winter plans in place in NHS Lothian

Robust plans are in place across NHS Lothian this winter to help patients receive the right health care in the right place.

The health board, which is already experiencing significant pressures, has geared up for the busiest time of the year.

The numbers of people who need healthcare surges every winter for a variety of illnesses and conditions, including winter bugs, such as flu, COVID, other respiratory illnesses and Norovirus.

NHS Lothian is working closely with the four health and social care partnership in the region – East Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh and West Lothian – to focus in on more community-based initiatives to reduce the need for hospital attendance and admission in the first place.

The move also means that more patients will be able to receive the care they need closer to home and if they do have to be admitted to an acute hospital, the length of their stay in hospital should be shorter.

In turn, the renewed focus on community programmes will help free up more hospital beds for patients who are acutely unwell.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “The pressures facing hospital and community teams, GPs and pharmacies regularly surge beyond levels of activity that some years ago would normally have been associated with winter.

“That level of demand will only increase as winter progresses, so we have worked with partnerships to bolster their capacity in the community to ensure that more hospital beds are available for those that need them most.

“Health care is there for everyone who needs it this winter and we want to make sure patients can receive their advice, care or treatment in the right place at the right time.”

Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPS) across Lothian are enhancing their “discharge to assess” programmes which helps support people to leave hospital as soon as it is safe and appropriate.

Single points of contact (SPoC) services are also being boosted. These systems are aimed at people who are at imminent risk of hospital care but can be safely managed in the community. They support GPs and other professionals to rapidly coordinate services.

Other streamlined assessment processes have also been put in place to expedite hospital discharges and help community teams to proactively identify people ready for discharge with their support.

People across Lothian are being reminded to seek care in the right place this winter – and that in many cases they may get help sooner and closer to home, without attending an A&E department.

The NHS Inform App is the first stop for self-care and advice, while local pharmacies, GP, or Minor Injuries Unit can provide expert care and treatment, usually closer to home. If patients are unsure where to get help or if they need urgent health care at night or at the weekends, they should call 111 day or night.

In Lothian, patients may be signposted on to other services if they turn up to hospital A&E when they don’t need to be there.

Scottish Ambulance Service prepares for Winter

The Scottish Ambulance Service is bringing in a range of extra initiatives this winter, including new frontline staff, ambulances and enhancements to 999 call centre operations.

The initiatives will come into place in the coming weeks to help SAS meet the increased demands on their services at a time which is traditionally the busiest for the NHS.

Recruitment is already well underway to support SAS’s dedicated frontline workforce with 317 new paramedics, technicians and advanced practice practitioners joining the Service by the end of March 2024.

Additional clinicians are also being introduced in the Service’s Integrated Clinical Hub. The Hub triages less seriously ill patients who don’t need to go to A&E to receive care and provides alternative routes for treatment, freeing up ambulances and reducing pressure on A&Es.

Michael Dickson OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We know that winter will be an extremely challenging period for the NHS which is why we’ve introduced a range of initiatives to help our patients and support our staff this winter.  

“Our patients are our priority, we will do everything we can to ensure patients are cared for and get the service they need quickly and efficiently.

“Not every call to 999 needs an ambulance or a trip to A&E and we are completely focussed on supporting patients to get care at home or close to home where it is safe to do so, ensuring patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

“The SAS workforce is essential as they carry out their roles often in extremely difficult circumstances and we will continue to support them during this high-pressure time.

“We urge the public to help our staff by remembering that 999 and A&E is for emergencies, if you need urgent care, but it’s not life-threatening, you can call NHS 24 on 111, day or night, or your GP during opening hours.”

Extra initiatives being brought in this winter include:

  • New staff, including Advanced Practitioners into each region and 52 new vehicles such as Rapid Response Vehicles to help respond in a more flexible manner throughout the winter period.
  • Maximising the use of trained volunteers such as Community First Responders, Cardiac Responders and BASICS, where appropriate.
  • Utilising dedicated Patient Transport Service (PTS) resources for low acuity patients, freeing up ambulances to get help to very seriously unwell patients as quickly as possible.
  • Connecting patients with local services and communicating pathway information to SAS clinicians.
  • Daily meetings with health boards to respond to the challenges relating to hospital handover delays so that our highly-trained ambulance crews can be back out responding to the next patient in the community who needs our help.
  • Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers (HALOs) will work with senior hospital site managers and the Service, improving the hospital admission and discharge process.
  • Ensuring the wellbeing of our crews, working with Health Board partners to provide refreshments for crews at hospitals in periods of high pressure and demand
  • Piloting new processes to help staff finish on time to protect their wellbeing and having a wide range of health and wellbeing services available for them to access should they need them.

PICTURES: (L to r) Newly Qualified Paramedic, Ellie Brown and Laura Robb, Paramedic, recently qualified NQP

Picture TOP: Stewart Ramsay, Paramedic, and Toni Boyd, Technician, both Glasgow East Station

Edinburgh prepares for winter

Winter is coming – and the city council is getting ready for it …

Road Services staff Brian McKay, Stuart Dineley and David Gillies get ready for winterSalt has been stockpiled, gritting lorries have been serviced and tried and tested plans have been reviewed and refreshed to help the Capital deal with whatever the weather has in store for us over the coming months.

Twenty four/seven stand-by arrangements for treating the roads and pavements came into force late last month [October] and salt bins throughout Edinburgh are being checked and topped up where necessary.

A Ready for Winter communications campaign, launched yesterday, will see information leaflets and posters distributed to neighbourhood offices, libraries and doctor and dental surgeries.

The leaflets provide useful information about being prepared for winter and contact information so that residents can readily access the help and services they need.

A total of 16,000 tonnes of salt have been stockpiled; levels are monitored throughout the winter and topped up when required.

Local farmers, who have worked with the Council over the past three years gritting rural routes, have been engaged again this year. Contracts are also in place with external contractors should the Council need access to additional staff and equipment in extreme winter conditions.

The Council website’s live winter weather pages provide information about priority road, cycle path and pavement gritting routes. Also on the site is an interactive map so that residents can find out where their nearest salt bin is.

If and when severe weather strikes, the Council will use its social media channels, website and local radio stations to keep residents updated on any impact on services.

Waste services skip locations have also been identified.  If the weather deteriorates and prevents waste collections from being made, skips will be installed at these locations for public use.

Councillor Adam McVey, Vice Convener of Transport and Environment, said: “We’ve had a few mild winters in recent years but we are never complacent – the harsh winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 are still fresh in everyone’s memory. It’s impossible to know at this stage what the weather has in store for us this year but we’ve been busy making sure we’re as prepared as we can be to keep the city moving, whatever the elements throw our way. Our staff are all trained up, our equipment is ready for use and our salt stocks are topped up, with more available should it be needed.

“As ever, we’d encourage residents to ensure they find out everything they need to know about keeping themselves safe during the winter months. Pick up one of our Ready for Winter leaflets at your local library or doctors’ surgery, visit our web pages or consult the Scottish Government’s advice at www.readyscotland.org.”Snowplough at Oaklands 2010

Snowplough at Oaklands 2010