People are being asked to use the most appropriate healthcare service for their needs to ensure Walsall’s Emergency Department is kept free for those with life-threatening or serious conditions.
The department has started to see an increase in the number of people attending the Manor Hospital – as have other hospitals in the region – and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust staff are working with partners to avoid people being unnecessarily admitted and to help patients to be discharged as promptly as possible.
“We are extremely busy in our Emergency Department and have been throughout this week, seeing an increase of around 50 patients a day,” said Daren Fradgley, the Trust’s Director of Strategy & Improvement.
“This is what we expect and have planned for once winter gets underway but we still rely on the public’s support to help us to be able to move patients through the system to free up beds and to help our teams prioritise those most in need as quickly as possible.
“We have further developed our Frail Elderly Service aimed at helping frail residents avoid being unnecessarily admitted to hospital and we’ve strengthened the link between Pharmacy and nursing colleagues in the Discharge Lounge so that any medication-related issues that could cause delays for medically fit patients are resolved.
“We are asking residents to play their part too by using the most appropriate healthcare service for their needs.”
People should get expert health advice by telephoning NHS 111 speaking to their local pharmacist, or contacting their own GP practice.
Walsall Healthcare has a Rapid Response Service that deals with referrals for patients who have conditions such as a Urinary Tract Infection, chest infection, dehydration and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) . The team will respond within two hours and set up multi-disciplinary care as appropriate, avoiding a hospital visit. This service can be accessed via a GP (in or out of hours), the Ambulance Service or NHS 111.
And Walsall has two urgent care centres, run by Primecare, for people with non life-threatening illnesses. The urgent care centre at Saddlers Shopping Centre, Bridgeman Street, is open 8am-8pm every day and the urgent care centre at the Manor Hospital is open from 7am-midnight every day.