Winter is coming: health bosses planning for a cold front

WINTER plans for local health services have been submitted to NHS England after last winter was branded ‘one of the worst on record’ for Staffordshire, writes KERRY ASHDOWN.

Seasonal pressures hit services hard at the start of 2018, with 278 patients facing waits of 12 hours or more at A&E in January alone.

Health bosses said they needed to do better for residents this winter. And the beginning of summer saw the start of preparations, with a winter plan being submitted to NHS England on August 30.

University Hospitals of

North Midlands Trust (UHNM), which runs Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford’s County Hospital, has continually failed to meet the national target of 95 per cent of patients being seen or treated in A&E within four hours this year.

But performance has improved over spring and summer, North Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups’ Governing Bodies meeting heard this week.

Accountable officer Marcus Warnes said: “I think it is fair to say performance is improving quite significantly.

“The unvalidated position for UHNM last week was 92.16 per cent against the 95 per cent target, which is probably the best performance we have seen in A&E for some time.”

In June NHS England wrote to senior health bosses to share its expectations for the coming months.

“These include a 25 per cent reduction in the number of long stay patients in acute hospitals, holding or reducing length of stay for all other patients and reducing bed occupancy to manageable levels.

A report to the meeting said: “The Staffordshire urgent care system has faced challenges for a number of years, consistently failing to deliver the four hour target.

“Winter 2017/18 was recognised as one of the worst on record for the Staffordshire and Stokeon-trent system, resulting in poor experiences and outcomes for patients.

“Winter planning began in June, with weekly conference calls in place with all system partners to discuss priorities and risks for the winter period.

“People are the key to ensuring the success of the winter plan. It is therefore imperative that everyone within the health and social care system is aware of the contents of this plan and the implications of it for them to ensure ownership of the actions.

“If everyone understands their role on a day to day basis, the plan can be delivered.”