Local hospitals investing £1.8 million to help patients stay well this winter | News

Epsom and St Helier hospitals have secured a record £1.8million in winter funding which will be used to deal with increased demand on services and help people stay well during the cold weather.

Jackie Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer, said: “Even though we’re in the early stages of winter and the weather is still quite mild, we are already seeing increases in the number of patients that need our services. We have to prepare for that demand to grow even further over the coming months, as people are more likely to pick up respiratory conditions that need hospital treatment, or are at increased risk of injury due to icy and slippery conditions.

“The funding we have been allocated by our commissioners for winter 2015-16, which we are pleased to say is the largest sum we have ever received, will allow us to ensure that we are in the best possible position to help our patients stay well this winter and care for them in a timely way should they need hospital treatment. Every year we tailor plans so that we can anticipate and deal with any surge in demand during winter, and that is the approach we are taking again this year.”

The funding will be used to implement several winter schemes, targeting a number of key areas:

• Accident and Emergency (A&E) – additional nursing and medical staff shifts to support an increase in A&E attendances and higher numbers of patients who are acutely unwell
• Weekend support – additional medical, nursing, therapy, phlebotomy, and radiology staff will be on hand to make sure patients can be discharged from hospital as soon as they are well enough, including over weekends
• Children’s services – additional nursing and medical staff will support an increase in paediatric attendances and higher numbers of young patients who are acutely unwell. This scheme also includes the provision of extended opening hours of paediatric assessment units.

“As well as looking at what is needed to bolster existing services across the trust, we are also implementing some additional programmes to provide further support to patients over the winter period. This includes a new project dedicated to helping patients who come to hospital because of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease. These respiratory conditions often get worse in the cold and damp weather, so this service has been designed to provide additional medical and nursing staff to ensure an early senior clinical review for these patients, and will be available seven days a week”, explained Jackie.

The trust is also supporting community-based schemes led by partner organisations, such as the new Community Assessment and Diagnostic Unit (CADU) based at Epsom Hospital. The CADU is an integrated service developed in partnership with GPs, Surrey County Council, CSH Surrey, South East Coast Ambulance Service, and the Red Cross. Jackie explained: “The CADU provides rapid, on-the-day access to diagnostics, assessments, and community care in a single location for over 65s in Epsom who are referred by their doctor, community health worker or staff at Epsom Hospital. The CADU offers an alternative service for patients who might otherwise have attended A&E or who may have had to stay in hospital unnecessarily for some time, helping us to make sure that patients are seen in the right place at the right time.

“We will continue working closely with our commissioners and partners in the community to ensure that we deliver a range of programmes to support our services and patients this winter, enabling us to continue delivering great care to every patient, every day.”