"We can cope" - NHS in Gloucestershire

NHS leaders in the county are reassuring the public that health services are coping with the current demand.

They are asking for co-operation to ensure services continue to deal with the strain this winter.

County doctors are reporting a 30% increase in patients at accident and emergency departments at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals.

Calls to GPs outside surgery hours have also increased as flu patients make contact with a health service under pressure from the vomiting bug.

The NHS has issued simple advice to those feeling ill.

Dr Tony Walsh, a Tetbury GP and chairman of Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust’s professional executive committee, said: “A well-stocked medicine cabinet could help you treat every day illnesses at home and a small supply of paracetamol, decongestants and other remedies can help relieve the symptoms of common ailments, such as colds and sore throats.

“If symptoms worsen, it is worth asking advice from your local pharmacist.

“They can provide expert advice on common health complaints, such as coughs, colds, flu, aches, pains, stomach upsets and sprains without an appointment.

“The vast majority of winter health conditions are caused by viruses which will last a short time and can be treated at home with advice available from NHS Direct or your local pharmacist.

“NHS Direct is a 24-hour nurse advice and health information service and provides confidential information on almost anything related to your health.”

“If you do have a flare up of a longstanding illness or are concerned about a child, then of course contacting your GP is the best course of action.

Tracy Heath, general manager for urgent care for the Ambulance Trust in Gloucestershire, is responsible for co-ordinating call handling for the county’s out-of-hours service for patients with conditions that require urgent attention.

She said: “The question people need to ask is do I need to see a GP immediately?

“The out-of-hours service is not designed for people who have run out of prescriptions – the onus is really on people to make sure they monitor their supply of medicines.

“Anyone who needs a doctor and phones the out-of-hours service is triaged and then phoned back for assessment.

“A doctor may then book a home visit, an appointment at one of the out-of-hours

centres in the county or arrange for a health visitor to call.

“If the condition is deemed to be critical or life threatening an ambulance will be called and the patient taken to accident and emergency. If emergency care is obviously required then patients should call 999 first.

“Minor injury units are also available at community hospitals in the county. To find out the range of services on offer people should phone NHS Direct.”

Jan Stubbings, chief executive of Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, has thanked NHS staff and members of the public for working hard and following guidance to ease pressures during a period of sustained pressure.

She said: “Winter is always a time when the pressures on the NHS increase. We have seen colder weather earlier than usual and this has led to many people seeking advice or seeing a heightened increase in symptoms for long-term conditions, such as lung disease, bronchitis or asthma. I would like to reassure the people of Gloucestershire that we have robust systems in place to cope with this demand.

“Our contingency plans are well established and we work closely with primary care, the hospitals trust and the ambulance service to ensure that we have the capacity to meet current demands.

“In the elderly or more vulnerable people, these illnesses are not so easily fought off which leads to increased pressures at our hospitals and on the ambulance service.

“This does mean we have to look at ways of dealing with having more patients, whether this is by using more staff at peak times or working with colleagues in the voluntary sector. However, we are not looking at the military as an option,” she said.

Cases of winter-related illnesses have risen to the highest level for many years and GPs have been drafted in help at accident and emergency departments.

Great Western Ambulance Service has responded to nearly 5,000 emergency calls in the past week. On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day alone nearly 2,000 calls flooded into the regional control centre.

The NHS has been increasingly active in promoting the range of NHS services available this winter and one of their key messages has been that emergency ambulance services are for critically ill people.

The excessive demands on NHS services have been blamed on an early flu outbreak and the winter vomiting bug, which closed hospital wards.