Help to free up beds for the jubilee

CLINICAL teams across Derby and Derbyshire are appealing to the public for help as they try to get patients home for the Jubilee Bank Holiday celebrations.

Hundreds of patients could be discharged from hospital, but may need extra support from families or loved ones to be able to do so. This can help others by making hospital beds available to seriously ill patients.

This year, the country is celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with an extra Bank Holiday on Friday, June 3. This has been paired with the traditional Spring Bank Holiday on Thursday, June 2 to create a four-day holiday, and it comes at a time when many patients in hospital are well enough to be discharged, but may not have full care packages in place.

NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group Chief Nurse, Brigid Stacey, said it was important that the whole community work together to help at a time when the whole NHS is still under severe pressure: “We’re all working together as a system, doing everything we can to get the care to everyone who needs it, and we need the public to help us as well. This might include getting involved when patients are ready for discharge from hospital.

“Families can really help us by supporting their loved ones to go home while they await a care package or accept a placement in a care home. We know this is not always ideal and we are grateful to families for continuing to do everything they can to support loved ones to return home so we can get patients who really do need to be in hospital into a bed quicker.

“We are also having to take extra steps to discharge patients to the first available residential or nursing home bed, which in some cases may not be the bed closest to the patient’s home.

“We would appreciate families’ support with this to help us ensure we can prioritise hospital treatment for those patients who are the most poorly.”

Meanwhile, Robyn Dewis, director of public health at Derby City Council, stressed the need to remain cautious when mixing with friends and family over the holiday: “It is great news that the level of Covid infection in the community continues to fall. However, it remains important that we remember to stay at home if we have symptoms of Covid until we are feeling better.”