HEALTH MATTERS
EVERYONE knows that winter is the busiest time in the NHS.
When the cold weather bites, people with long-term conditions such as serious breathing problems are more likely to fall ill.
NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG and East Cheshire NHS Trust have been preparing for the increase in demand for healthcare services by working together on various schemes to improve performance and ensure patients receive the best care possible.
One such initiative is the Helping Flo campaign, developed jointly by East Cheshire NHS Trust, Cheshire East Council and NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG that aims to keep hospital beds free for those who really need them by improving the timely discharge of patients who are ready to go home.
The campaign encourages the public and health and social care staff alike to take five simple steps to get people home when the time comes.
The campaign has been a big success so far, amassing thousands of views on YouTube.
The campaign has also contributed to an improvement in the number of timely discharges at Macclesfield Hospital since it was launched in September.
Find out more about the campaign at www. eastcheshire.nhs.uk/ news/HelpingFlo.
Several schemes have reduced delayed transfers of care, particularly the provision of additional beds in the community.
The CCG has commissioned beds in a care home setting for people who no longer need acute hospital care.
Under this arrangement, patients are looked after by care home staff plus visiting local GPs, therapists and nurses.
These additional beds have enabled more than 60 people to be discharged and supported in the community since October.
The British Red Cross has also been helping to alleviate pressure through its discharge support service, which provides people with practical and emotional support when returning home after a stay in hospital, reducing the risk of readmission.
I’d like to finish by thanking the people of Eastern Cheshire for using A&E wisely, with around nine in 10 attendances at the accident and emergency department at Macclesfield being appropriate.
It’s encouraging to see that people are using other methods to get help, including using NHS 111, speaking to a pharmacist or booking a GP appointment. IT may be cold, and miserable outside, but spring is in the air.
The first crocuses are out, starlings are hanging around near the space under our eaves where they usually nest and Cheshire East is launching a new Vision for Macclesfield Town Centre.
It seems that those of us who have been banging on about the absurdity of building on the Churchill Way car park have finally got our way.
So let’s have another crack at free car parking for shoppers. Charges deter people who just want to nip in for 10 minutes or so for a couple of items.
Shoppers with expiring tickets skip stopping for a coffee or carrying on shopping.
Meanwhile, another one bites the dust. Burton’s joins Macc’s list of vacated shops and Cheshire East now wants to end shoppers’ free parking in Poynton and Bollington.
If I were still a councillor I would not wish to poke my nose into important decisions about Nantwich or Crewe town centres.
Macclesfield deserves similar respect. A joint committee of the town council, plus Cheshire East councillors from Macclesfield, should decide our town centre’s future. It’s our town. Please try to participate in the Consultation and have your say.
Finally, I can’t avoid Brexit. It is too important.
As evidence of the adverse consequences of leaving, even with a deal, grows by the day. I find Brexiteers’ pontifications about surviving the Blitz as if it was some minor setback deeply offensive.
It is disrespectful to those who experienced the carnage and mass destruction.
I’m amazed that many who experienced post-war economic hardship can contemplate inflicting Brexit on a young generation already facing tough times.
Unlike Brexit, WWII was not self-inflicted. The RAF did not Blitz Britain.
Brexit is a mess. A People’s Vote is the only way out.