NHS staff are prepared for 'challenging' winter

In NHS Lothian, the focus will be on reducing hospital attendance and admission, increasing hospital flow, providing more care closer to home and reducing the length of a patient’s stay.

Plans are in place to improve patient flow through hospitals and boost community-based initiatives, such as Hospital at Home, to provide urgent medical care for chronic conditions in a person’s home.

Other pioneering initiatives have also been created in the community in tandem with the four Health and Social Care Partnerships in Lothian to help patients return home as soon as they are medically well enough.

The projects will speed up the discharge process, meaning that more beds can be freed up for the patients that need them most.

Dr Tracey Gillies, NHS Lothian medical director, said: “All of the predictions for this year have warned that this will be one of the most challenging for the NHS to date.

“The pressures facing acute and community teams, GPs and pharmacies have already surged to levels that would normally have been associated with winter and they have been like this for most of the year so far.

“There is no distinct rise and fall in activity as would have been seen in the years before the pandemic.”

As part of that winter planning, NHS Lothian has launched a clear-cut campaign to make sure patients know where to get help if they are sick or injured this winter.

Its A&E is for critical emergencies only campaign has been designed to help get patients the right care in the right place this winter.

It will feature on the back of buses, telephone kiosks, digital audio and across social media to raise awareness. To find out more, visit services.nhslothian.scot/rightcare.

In Forth Valley, people are being encouraged to plan ahead to help them and their families stay healthy over the festive period.

Along with the national Healthy Know How campaign, NHS Forth Valley is asking readers to plan ahead, particularly in terms of ensuring they have enough prescribed medication to last over the holiday period.

Andrew Murray, NHS Forth Valley medical director, said: “Winter is always a challenging time for health services, however, by planning ahead in the run up to the festive period, we can all do our bit to help support the NHS at this busy time of year.

“If you or a family member take’s prescribed medication, make sure there is enough medication to last over the festive holidays. If you need more, please order in plenty of time to ensure your GP surgery and pharmacy have time to organise the prescription and pick it up before the start of the holidays.

“It’s also a good idea to keep some over-the-counter medicines at home to deal with common winter illnesses so you have them to hand if you need them. If you are unfortunate enough to become ill, you can access health information and advice by visiting the NHS inform website or by calling their helpline on 0800 22 44 88.”

Details of local health services over the winter period, including local pharmacy opening times, is available on the website at www.nhsforthvalley.com/winter.