As local NHS services brace themselves for one of their busiest winters to date an additional £750,000 is being invested in nursing staff, nursing assistants and emergency care doctors at The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The move is to support a package of intensive improvements in healthcare services from November through to February next year. It will help the Countess of Chester hospital meet the challenge of 95% of patients arriving in Accident and Emergency being admitted or discharged within four hours. The Trust is currently facing an increase in the number of routine operations that need to be cancelled due to an unprecedented demand on beds from emergency department admissions.
It is planned that investment in additional staff, equipment and services at The Countess of Chester will deliver improvements in the following areas:
- The ambulatory care unit will provide faster access to rapid clinical assessment, diagnostic services and treatment planning for patients who do not need to be admitted to hospital
- A temporary 'short stay' winter ward will offer 72 hours of acute care for patients in need of short term care from the Acute medicine and Care of the Elderly team with higher therapy input
- An early supported discharge team will look after up to 100 patients in the community on a daily basis with nursing and therapy input, this is of particular benefit for patients with respiratory conditions that worsen during the cold weather
- A new Centre for Healthy Ageing at Ellesmere Port Hospital will run daily 'drop in' support for older, frail patients as part of a partnership with the voluntary sector Age UK
Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations at The Countess of Chester Mark Brandreth said:
When a poorly patient arrives at the emergency department and we need to admit them into a bed we are dependent on safe staffing levels, the physical space and a good flow of patients through the hospital. Recent months have seen significant pressures on local services and with this additional investment we have been able to recruit more nurses, nursing assistants and doctors to help us develop alternative services as well as open more beds that will keep us on track this winter.
In addition to this investment at The Countess of Chester, the wider health system will receive a further £850,000 in winter funding to support additional community services and social care activity. Daily meetings are taking place across West Cheshire with involvement from the hospital, GP commissioners, community services and social care to safely transfer patients who no longer need acute medical care to the most appropriate alternative setting. This may be the patient's own home with a package of care, or in some cases it will involve nursing home care.
Clinical lead for urgent care services at The Countess of Chester Dr Frank Joseph added: "We know that people are living longer, many with multiple complex long term conditions - and the reality is that it is getting more and more difficult to manage. When we admit elderly and frail patients to hospital, they risk losing their independence and are susceptible to infection. This winter our doctors, nurses and therapists have been heavily involved in working with colleagues in both community services and social care to develop different models of care that provide short stay and drop in options for these individuals, who we hope to keep healthy at home."