Shropshire hospitals 'well prepared' for winter as think-tank warns NHS is on a knife edge
The NHS is heading into winter on a knife edge as half of NHS trust finance directors think patient care in their area has got worse over the past year, an influential think tank has warned.
But despite the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) saying it is already seeing increasing pressure because of the colder weather, bosses say it is well prepared.
The King's Fund believes the negative outlook from 51 per cent of finance directors, compared with six per cent who said there had been improvements, is a sign that a seven-year squeeze on NHS and social care budgets is impacting on patient care.
Nationally, It found that 89.7 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours in September compared with 90.6 per cent in September last year, despite a major drive to improve performance and relaxation of the 18-week referral to treatment target.
The King's Fund's new quarterly monitoring report also found that 89.4 per cent of patients waiting for treatment in August had been waiting up to 18 weeks, compared with 90.9 per cent in August last year.
The think tank said this is missing the 92% waiting target and that 4.1 million people are now waiting for treatment.
There were also 45 per cent of NHS trusts who predicted they would meet this year's financial targets, according to the organisation.
Siva Anandaciva, the King's Fund chief analyst, described the outlook of the finance directors as "sobering" as it suggests NHS funding pressures are having "a real impact".
But Simon Wright, the chief executive of SaTH, which runs both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital, says preparations are already underway to get them ready and that the trust is looking in a good position.
He said: "Our hospitals have been very busy for a number of weeks, but this week it is beginning to feel like winter has arrived. We are seeing large numbers of people attending our A&Es and also a lot of people presenting with respiratory problems, who need admitting for further treatment.
“In the first three days of this week, we have already seen more than 1,000 people through the doors of our two A&Es.”
A new locum consultant doctor has been recruited to help ease pressures at the A&E, the first to join for a number of years.
A Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) has been opened at PRH for patients who don’t need to be admitted to hospital, but do need to be at the hospital for more than four hours .
An Urgent Care Centre (UCC) has also opened at hospital to support patients with minor ailments. .
At RSH, a discharge lounge will be opened in the day room on Ward 32 Short Stay on Monday for patients who are ready for discharge, to free-up beds which would otherwise be unavailable.
