NHS announces Winter Plan to support Bucks residents over challenging months

Buckinghamshire NHS Trust has confirmed its winter plan to keep residents safe at a time when more people get ill.

This plan has been prepared by officials in the health and social care sector and is designed to make sure people get the services they need in the most appropriate place.

Patients are being asked to play their part by:

-Taking up the offer of free flu and covid vaccinations if they are in eligible groups

-Using NHS 111 for advice on the most appropriate service for their needs

-Continuing to contact their GP practice about worrying symptoms

-Speaking to a pharmacist about minor illnesses

-Only using 999 and hospital Emergency Departments for life threatening conditions

-Making sure they get repeat prescriptions in time for weekends and bank holidays

-Stocking up on over-the-counter medicines

-Looking out for vulnerable family members, friends and neighbours

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has made a number of changes ahead of the cold season, including: extending the hours of its Urgent Treatment Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital to 24/7; working with FedBucks to establish a Primary Care Clinical Assessment Service to redirect NHS 111 calls away from GP care to more suitable services; expanding the remit and hours of its Same Day Emergency Care unit so that people can be treated without being admitted, and opening a new paediatric Emergency Department and paediatric clinical observation unit. The trust has also received national funding to build a new ward at Stoke Mandeville Hospital which will increase the number of beds available for inpatients.

Raghuv Bhasin, Chief Operating Officer for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: “Our priority is to ensure the most vulnerable and those in most urgent need can access services quickly and easily, whether that’s at one of our hospitals or in their own homes. We have invested in services with more beds and more staff than last year to reduce waits for patients during winter.

“You can also help us to help you by taking preventative action such as flu jabs and keeping Emergency Departments for life threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, breathing difficulties and severe bleeding. If you’re not sure then go to NHS 111 online or call them and they will be able to advise on what you should do to get the care you need.”

Bucks Council is working with the trust to provide an integrated discharge service which will help people leave hospital as quickly as it is safe to do so with the right support in place. Olympic Lodge is also reopening this month, a site close to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which can provide intermediate care for patients who no longer need hospital care but are not well enough to be sent home until the appropriate support package is in place.

Councillor Angela Macpherson said: “To keep people safe and well over the winter period, it’s important that we work together to provide the right support at the right time. This is a key priority for us across Buckinghamshire.”