A pilot project in Sunderland found GP and outpatient visits reduced by a third after patients’ homes were made warmer and cheaper to heat. Family doctors prescribing double glazing and loft insulation for patients living in cold, damp homes can transform lives and cut down the huge sums spent by the NHS on cold-related ill … [Read more…]
Following reports which state that 1,800 nurses quit the NHS within two months, hospitals may have no choice but to turn patients away. Britain’s total nursing staff dropped from 280,765 to 278,924 from June to August. The announcement has hospital staff and health care officials panicking as worries regarding the demands winter will place on … [Read more…]
During the busy winter months, patients will be able to visit their GP on Saturdays. A number of GP practices across North Staffordshire and Stone-on-Trent have signed on to provide Saturday opening hours for patients who need an urgent appointment over the winter. The scheme plans to run throughout the winter months, from November until … [Read more…]
Lack of planning by the NHS for winter brings a plethora of problems for every hospital’s A&E department (among others) when the season strikes. The annual NHS bed crisis rears it’s head with a tedious predictability in the eyes of many. The National Health Service has been running for 66 years, and to learn of … [Read more…]
Winter has always been a notoriously difficult time within the healthcare industry. Illnesses associated with the colder weather relentlessly drive up patient demand on an already overstretched and struggling NHS service. Last winter, excess deaths related to the colder months across England and Wales totaled 31,100, which is a 29% increase on the 2011/12 figures, … [Read more…]
“Unexpectedly high” demand for acute service The NHS Trust Development Authority is set to investigate the “unexpectedly high” demand for acute services, which has seen winter pressures roll over into the summer months. The work is due to examine the causes behind the apparent surge in demand and how trusts had responded, with many hospitals missing national A&E … [Read more…]
Additional winter funding stripped back leaving A&E departments short Analysis by the Health Service Journal has revealed that hospital trusts are already factoring in financial deficits, as four out of ten experience increased costs due to unplanned demand on emergency services. Trusts usually receive winter pressure funding, which helps them to cope with the rising … [Read more…]