NHS Forth Valley: Struggling health board prepares for winter

NHS Forth Valley’s chief executive, Cathie Cowan, told the health board that there is a “whole system” approach to tackling the massive challenges facing Forth Valley Royal’s emergency department and out of hours services.

The winter plans aims to find ways to cope with an expected rise in Covid, flu and norovirus, at a time when the hospital already has five patients in wards that are meant for four and extra beds in treatment rooms. Particular focus is being put on improving how quickly patients are discharged from the hospital as delays mean the ‘flow’ of patients through the hospital seizes up.

Ms Cowan said that work is ongoing in a number of areas and they are implementing the ‘Discharge without Delay’ improvement programme. This includes finding ways to get more people discharged before noon and at weekends when key members of staff are not always available.

Work has also started to increase the number of beds available for community-based care, which will enable patients who are well enough to be moved from the acute hospital into care homes or be cared for at home. The Hospital at Home service, which supports people to be discharged early, will be increased.

Twenty additional community beds will also be opened in Falkirk Community Hospital and Stirling Community hospital and there are longer term studies to look at how they can increase the overall bed capacity in the longer term.

A major factor in keeping admissions as low as possible over the winter months will be ensuring a good uptake of vaccines against Covid and flu. Dr Graham Foster, director of public health in Forth Valley, said that the vaccination programme was going well.

Since it started in September, 194,793 vaccines have been administered in NHS Forth Valley; 97, 827 Covid-19 booster doses and 96,966 flu vaccinations with 91.1 per cent of these being co-administered.

He said they would continue to target groups where the uptake was lower, including health and social care staff, where fewer than 50 per cent have been vaccinated. They are now being offered vaccines at locations to suit them in a bid to get more coverage.

Parents of young children, aged two to five years, are also being encouraged to get them vaccinated against flu, with a painless nasal spray. This is available at Falkirk Community Hospital, Monday to Sunday between 8.30 am and 7 pm.