NHS Trusts have been told to prioritise patient safety over targets as they face record pressures this winter.
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard and other trust leads met with the Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting this week to address the critical situation in A&E departments across the country.
The Health and Social Care Secretary told attendees at the specially convened meeting that they must ensure patient safety by focusing on key metrics including improving emergency ambulance response times, addressing delays in patient handovers and bringing down the longest waiting times in A&E.
The message feeds into the government’s Plan for Change, which includes the priority mission of tackling waiting lists to reduce pressures on the wider health system.
Patient safety key priority as NHS faces record pressures
Urgent and emergency care services have been facing growing pressures since we entered the colder seasons, with recent data showing that the NHS has gone into winter under more strain than ever before. Record numbers of people are in hospital, with 95% of hospital beds full, and, by the end of November, flu admissions had risen 400% compared to the same time last year.
Mr Streeting told NHS leaders that trusts must prioritise patients with the greatest clinical need, as opposed to those patients who can be seen and discharged quickly.
Speaking at NHS England’s headquarters on Monday, Mr Streeting said:
“This winter I want to see patient safety prioritised as we brace ourselves for the coming months. I’m asking trusts to focus on ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits.
“We’ve already taken immediate action to keep patients safe by ending strikes – meaning this is the first winter in 3 years without staff on the picket line.
“This government’s Plan for Change sets out our work to bring down waiting lists, alongside the 10 Year Health Plan that will deliver fundamental reform to build an NHS that is there for us all year-round.”
He also appealed to all eligible people to get vaccinated to protect themselves against winter viruses such as flu, RSV and Covid-19 to further ease pressures on health services.
NHS has worked hard to ensure patient safety this winter
NHS staff were thanked for their preparation and hard work to keep people safe as winter bugs set in and hospital admissions soar.
The NHS has already implemented a number of measures to help ease the strain on services. These include:
- Monitoring hospitals 24/7 to identify those needing targeted support to reduce long A&E waits and avoidable admissions.
- Expanding same-day emergency care services to enable over 2.5 million patients a year to be cared for in one day, rather than needing to stay in hospital overnight.
- Increasing the number of virtual wards – introducing nearly 2,000 more virtual ward beds this year, to enable thousands of patients to receive hospital-level care from home
- Dispatching urgent community response teams who can treat people in their homes
- Improving discharge for patients with complex needs – through care transfer hubs at every hospital
- Delivering winter vaccinations
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said the NHS was facing “unprecedented demand going into winter.”
She added:
“While staff have worked hard to prepare – including expanding virtual wards so more patients can receive hospital-style care at home and delivering over 27 million vaccinations since September – we know services are set to come under even more strain.
“Patient safety must be paramount, and speaking to local leaders today, the message was clear: we need every part of the NHS, and social care partners, working together to manage demand and ensure patients with the most urgent needs are prioritised.
“As always, the public have an important part to play in helping NHS staff over winter, by calling 999 and using A&E in an emergency only, while using NHS 111 to access the right support for urgent health needs.”
She also named vaccinations as a “key factor” in keeping more people out of hospital this winter. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is monitoring rates of winter viruses and has urged people who are eligible to come forward for the jabs.
Meanwhile, Dr Tim Cooksley, of the Society for Acute Medicine, said it was “concerning” the health secretary felt the need to define winter priorities for frontline NHS staff. He added:
“The stark reality is not that hospitals and staff on the frontline are manipulating targets, but that they are simply unable to deliver safe care even when trying their utmost to do so given the impossible situations they are in.”
Training key for health and care staff
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider.
They deliver over 6,000 courses each year in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, food safety, mental health, health and social care and other special focus topics.
Their diverse portfolio includes training awards designed for care workers, such as Infection Control and Prevention, Safeguarding Adults, Duty of Care, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Person Centred Care and Support and many others.
Their course portfolio spans Care Certificate standards, mandatory training awards, clinical skills, special focus courses and higher level training for supervisors and managers.
A Trainer at FRT, says:
“We know that the winter period can be really tough for health and care services across the country. The colder weather and prevalence of infections such as flu, Covid-19 and norovirus can mean that hospital admissions skyrocket, while further pressures are also placed on social care services as they try to protect vulnerable individuals.
“It’s important that all health and care services prepare for the winter period to build resilience and ensure the highest quality care is delivered to those who need it. Staff training can help services get ready for busy periods where they are juggling multiple priorities.”
For more information on the training provided by FRT, please call them on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.