Agenda item

The Panel will receive an update from the B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG) on current issues.

Dr Bryn Bird, B&NES Locality Clinical Chair addressed the Panel. A copy of the update can be found as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

Current pressures on local health and care system

The Royal United Hospital recently declared an Internal Critical Incident over increasing pressures caused by staff sicknesses, treating Covid and non-Covid patients and the availability of beds.

Although this has now been stood down and things at the hospital are more stable, the position is still challenging and a number of initiatives are underway to alleviate pressure and help with flow through the hospital by discharging patients who are well enough to go home.

A number of options are under review including using a community ward at St Martin’s hospital to accommodate patients, looking to utilise different areas of the RUH to accommodate more beds and setting up a temporary care facility at a hotel in central Bath.

Pressures are also still being felt in our community services and in primary care where staff absences due to covid continue to cause problems.

The main messages are for people to use our health services appropriately, support hospitals by collecting loved ones as soon as they are ready to go home, using our pharmacies for help and support wherever possible and using the online 111 service in the first instance.

New community based Paediatric Urgent Service Hub

A new community based Paediatric Urgent Service Hub (PUSH) has been established in in B&NES in order to help reduce pressures on both primary &

secondary care.

The service has been set up by local GP Federation B&NES Enhanced Medical Services (BEMS) and is for children up to the age of 5 with symptoms of fever and who are acutely unwell and need a face-to-face review.

The service will run from two sites, St James’s Surgery and Elm Hayes in Paulton, and will run Monday to Friday, initially for afternoons only between 1pm-6pm with a view to running a morning session too from 8am-1pm, if the afternoon sessions prove successful.

Temporary care facility opened at Bath hotel to help free up beds in local hospitals

Patients well enough to leave local hospitals but who require further care before they can return home are to be accommodated in a new temporary care facility at a hotel in Bath.

The new facility is being opened on a temporary basis as a way of releasing much needed hospital beds as well as providing a more appropriate environment for patients to recuperate before they return home.

The shortage of hospital beds is due to high levels of patients requiring treatment for Covid, other winter illnesses and ongoing winter-related pressures.

Homecare agency Abicare have been contracted to supply live in staff to provide care at the hotel.

Kevin Burnett asked if the Paediatric Urgent Service Hub (PUSH) would take staff away from other existing services and whether this was a temporary service.

Dr Bird replied that this matter was looked at during Summer / Autumn 2021 with regard to the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), which can be serious for infants, as up to a 50% increase in cases was anticipated. He said that this deemed a key pressure point to therefore redirect some clinical resource. He added that the variation in work that this provides is welcome by some practitioners. He said this was to be a temporary service for around three months.

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty stated that she wished to thank Dr Bird and all NHS / Care staff for their continued hard work. She asked how long the temporary care facility in Bath would be in use.

Dr Bird replied that it had gone live this week and had been put in place as a result of surge planning from anticipated increase in cases / variants. He said that it was hard to say how long it will be required as that will depend on the seriousness of the next waves.

Councillor O’Doherty asked what work was taking place to try to increase Covid vaccinations locally.

Dr Bird replied that the Communications Team were working daily to try to increase the number of people that are vaccinated and were especially attempting to be more visual in areas of low uptake.

The Chairman asked if the accelerated use of technology through the pandemic had made people more hesitant to approach their GP in person.

Dr Bird replied that the message to the public is, and has been for the majority of the pandemic, that surgeries are open for those that need us.

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked if he could comment on the incoming requirement for all NHS staff to be compulsory vaccinated.

Dr Bird replied that he has had discussions on this matter with the Medical Director at the RUH and the need to understand any concerns that staff may have who are not currently vaccinated. He added that he did not feel that Primary Care staff would be as much affected by this measure.

The Chairman thanked Dr Bird for his update on behalf of the Panel.