The NHS is to introduce 24/7 'war rooms' across England to ensure scarce resources are most effectively used this winter. Command centres will be set up in every area of the country to make rapid decisions including diverting ambulances to hospitals where they have free beds.
The Mirror reports that NHS England’s unprecedented plans come before what is expected to be its toughest ever winter with a record waiting list and high rates of both Covid-19 and flu for the first time. Care ‘traffic control centres’ will see teams of clinicians monitor local NHS activity data and divert staff and other resources to hospitals at risk of being overwhelmed.
They will also dispatch rapid response teams to help elderly people who have fallen at home but do not require being admitted to hospital. Frail pensioners have reported being left more than 24 hours after calling 999 in response to a fall and the new teams have been set up to save paramedics for the more seriously unwell.
Local medical hubs will also be set up to treat people with respiratory infections including Covid, flu, pneumonia and acute bronchitis. It is intended to keep many out of hospital after modelling suggested such patients could occupy up to half of all NHS beds this winter.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard, said: “Winter comes hot on the heels of an extremely busy summer and with the combined impact of flu, Covid and record NHS staff vacancies, in many ways we are facing more than the threat of a ‘twindemic’ this year.
“The NHS is going further than it ever has before in anticipation of a busy winter. Every one of these initiatives will make a real impact on the ground – helping to relieve pressure on frontline staff as well as seeing patients quickly and directing them to where they can receive the best possible care.”
The respiratory infection hubs will be at health centres and previous walk-in clinics but patients will have to be referred there by a specialist. It comes as A&E trolley waits of more than 12 hours from a decision to admit them to actually being admitted hit a record 32,776 people in September.
Just 71% of A&E patients were seen within four hours - the joint worst performance on record. The operational standard is that at least 95% should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but this has not been met since 2015. Patients usually had to wait before being initially assessed after arrival so wait times in A&E are typically much longer than recorded.
Average ambulance waits for category two calls - which include suspected heart attacks and strokes - rose in September to 48 minutes. That is almost triple the maximum target of 18 minutes. The delays are linked to ambulances stuck outside packed A&Es unable to unload patients.
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