Health chiefs have set out for councillors winter care plans that are in place to assist the NHS.
Winter regularly sees pressure ramp up for NHS services, particularly urgent emergency care provided by hospitals.
A presentation for members of the Tees Valley Joint Health Scrutiny Committee delivered during a meeting in Redcar described seven priorities that had been outlined by the Government.
These included:
- Patients who had suffered a stroke, heart attack, sepsis or some other major trauma to receive an ambulance within half an hour
- A minimum of 78% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours
- Reducing the number of patients who remain in an emergency department for longer than 24 hours while awaiting a mental health admission
- Tackling the delays in patients waiting once they are ready to be discharged.
A winter planning assurance and delivery group has been set up by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
An assessment of “winter readiness” has taken place involving local authority accident and emergency delivery boards.
Hospital trusts on Teesside and elsewhere across the country also “stress tested” winter plans by taking part in an NHS England-hosted exercise last month.
Karen Hawkins, director of delivery at the North East ICB and Rowena Dean, the chief operating officer at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, described partnership working that was taking place with various organisations including hospital and ambulance trusts, GP federations and local authorities.
The overall aim was to deliver safer urgent and emergency care “in the right place at the right time”.
The presentation said it was essential that both public and healthcare staff were engaged in understanding appropriate available services and how to access them.
It was also hoped to increase vaccination rates among staff for conditions such as flu.
Another focus was patients with existing respiratory conditions such as COPD and asthma who are to be offered “proactive care” to help reduce episodes of illness and associated complications during winter via acute respiratory hubs, hospital at home services, and via local pharmacies.
Improvements to ambulance handovers and optimising “pathways” in emergency departments for people suffering mental health crises are further foci.
A region-wide advertising campaign – Here to Help – will signpost people to the right service for their needs – in order to keep people feeling well.
The campaign will also flag services offered by chemists able to treat “little problems” in order to reduce pressure on GP and emergency health care services.
