South West hospitals readying for winter surge

Health trusts in the South West say they are taking additional measures to help handle the anticipated surge of demand during the winter.

Last winter patients in the region faced some of the longest waits for emergency care in the country.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust are both already seeing extra patients.

The Department of Health said it had "invested... an additional £800m for this winter".

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said demand was increasing, with this year expected to busier than last.

In 2022/23 the South West ranked highest for time lost to ambulance handover delays.

Dawn Surl, 65, from St Blazey, has recently been discharged from the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCH) after she developed a fever following major surgery.

She spent two days in a chair in the emergency department, before being moved to the last bed in a ward - in front of a fire exit.

She said: "It was just…bedlam, absolute bedlam. People were staying on these chairs and trolleys, for two or three days before being moved.

"I cannot fault the staff; it's not them, it's the system - the system is so broken. And it's time that we did something about it, it cannot go on."

RCH said it was sorry for her experience, adding her arrival had coincided with a sharp rise in demand.

It added: "An additional temporary 'boarding' bed may be added in bays on some wards but only where this is safe to do so and is something done in many hospitals across the country."

The chief nursing officer for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, Susan Bracefield, said her team had been preparing for a busy period.

She said: "There are always challenges that come with winter, we've learnt lessons from last winter.

"Our winter plans are about how we manage, working with the voluntary sector, to keep people at home for as long as we possibly can.

"And when they go into hospital, they go in for a much shorter period of time."

In Plymouth, the region's biggest hospital and only major trauma centre has already faced a critical incident this month.

The head of estate development for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Andrew Davis, said: "We have a brand new orthopaedic ward, the Bantham ward opening in the next couple of weeks.

"We've worked really hard to create this space - it's designed to free up space in the hospital to help us cope with winter pressures, as well as providing staff and patients with a more modern setting."

Both NHS Cornwall and NHS Devon are also using technology whenever possible to avoid people coming into hospital.

Susan Miller from Plymouth has been testing her blood pressure at home through an NHS initiative called a virtual ward.

She said: "It's nice to be able to come home, not worry about having to wait for somebody to take your blood pressure, you can just do it yourself when the tablet tells you to do it.

"It's quite easy to use, and you've got the back up of the team back in the hospital."

In Cornwall, the voluntary sector is working with the NHS to provide community health hubs.

Recently widowed June Jobbins has been using the centre in Perranporth,

She said: "There's always somebody here to chat to. That's what I find such a comfort.

"And just the feel good factor really, just what you need when you spend a lot of hours on your own all of a sudden."

Follow BBC News South West on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]