18 new beds to deal with winter crisis
Ayr hospital will provide 18 new beds to cope with high demand over winter.
University Hospital Crosshouse is short of 18 beds needed to make sure scheduled procedures go ahead this winter.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran needs £ 400,000 to open up the extra beds in Kilmarnock.
To address the problem NHS bosses intend to discuss the lack of funding with the Scottish Government.
So far Holyrood has given the board about £ 709,728 funding for its winter plan.
More hospital staff on duty and extended opening hours in some departments are part of the seasonal action plan with medics working overtime.
The discharge lounge where patients wait on transport to leave Crosshouse hospital will be open for longer.
More workers will be on duty in Ayr hospital’s discharge lounge. The move aims to cut delays in A& E and the Combined Assessment Unit.
The children’s wards in Crosshouse Hospital will have extra nurses working thanks to a funding boost of £ 42,000.
A radiology service will also run in the Kilmarnock hospital during weekends.
There will also be additional staff in the surgical assessment area, which will stop delays in the emergency department.
Plans for more employees on hand at the medical day unit will mean fewer patients needing to stay in hospital overnight.
A health report warned high numbers of A& E patients and delayed discharges over recent months means winter plans are starting off on the backfoot.
The document presented to the board last week said: “due to a period of challenge over the last few months we are commencing winter planning from a less auspicious position.”
The report added: “The purpose of the winter plan is to mitigate risks identified due to predicted seasonal variation in demand.”
Over recent weeks health bosses pleaded with the public not to turn up at A& E unless it is an emergency.
It comes after last week The Post reported ailing Ayr Hospital was found lacking after a three- day offricial probe by inspectors. They found seven problems with food service.