Winter Plan 14/15

Context

Overview

Walsall CCG’s Winter Plan is an integral part of its overall Surge Plan which draws together a number of documents aimed at both managing surges in activity from winter and unexpected surges in demand.

It describes services which can be brought into operation if demand increases unexpectedly.

Walsall CCG’s role

Walsall CCG has a coordinating role in ensuring that the plans and services required for winter are identified and appropriately resourced while ensuring that providers have flexibility to deliver services as required, in a safe manner to an acceptable quality.

This presentation will cover -

• Context

• Integrated planning

• Infection prevention

• Capacity management over Christmas/ New Year

Integrated planning

The surge plan pulls together ingredients from the following documents:

• Systems Resilience Plan 2014/15

• Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Re-ablement Plans

Together these plans outline the services and contingencies that are in place across Walsall. This plan builds on the work undertaken in previous years and the surge planning exercises.

The Walsall Health and Social Care System is working together to plan and implement a programme of actions to improve our performance across the urgent care pathway.

We are clear that we have a whole system problem that requires a whole system solution involving all four partners.

Across the Local Health and Social Care Economy there are a number of joint committees which focus on ensuring that collaborative approaches are taken in the planning of services.

Meetings which are established throughout the year:-

• System Resilience Group

• Community Services Redesign Group

• Walsall Resilience Committee (LA)

• Black Country Urgent Care leads meeting

Infection prevention

Headlines:

The profile of infection prevention control has been raised across Walsall Health Economy.

Working as a team Public Health England, Walsall Public Health and DWMHPT and WHT infection prevention teams work together to provide advice and support to organizations to prevent infection and to manage outbreaks.

Toolkits to provide advice on management of outbreaks are available for acute and residential care settings as well as schools and nurseries.

Debrief sessions are held following outbreaks in Trusts and residential care settings to learn lessons and to continually improve management of incidents.

A borough-wide task and finish group has been established to oversee the planning for the seasonal flu immunisation programme for 2014/15. The group reports to SQP.

Targets of the flu immunisation campaign 2014/15:

• To reach or exceed 75% uptake for people aged 65 years and over

• To reach or exceed 75% uptake by 2014/15 for people under age 65 with risk factors from the effects of flu

• To ensure that every employer has ambitious flu immunisation programmes for frontline health and social care workers to significantly improve upon their current uptake

• To reach or exceed 75% uptake for all frontline employees

Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period

GPs/ Primary Care

GP practices remain responsible for their patients from 08:00 until 18:30, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Out of hours cover is provided by Badger Group.

Out of hours arrangements are in place to provide access to GPs from 18:30 – 08:00, all day Saturdays and Sundays and through bank holidays where individual practices are closed. Access to Out of Hours Service is via 111.

• Christmas Eve GP practices are responsible for providing services to their patient between 8.00 am and 6.30pm

• Closed Christmas Day

• Closed Boxing Day

• Closed Saturday 27th December

• Closed Sunday 28th December

• Normal GP working hours resume on Monday 29th December 2014 from 08.00 am & 6.30pm

• New Year’s Eve GP practices are responsible for providing services to their patient between 8.00 am and 6.30pm

• Closed New Year’s Day – 1st January 2015

• Normal GP working hours resume on Friday 2nd January 2015 from 08:00

Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period

GP Out Of Hours

• Out of Hours services in the Walsall Borough area are provided by Badger Group.

• Therefore Badger will cover:

• Christmas Eve from 18:30

• Christmas Day – 24 hours

• Boxing Day – 24 hours

• Saturday 27th December – 24 hours

• Sunday 28th December – 24 hours

• Until 08:00am Monday 29th December when GP’s will resume normal working hours

• New Years Eve from 18:30

• New Years Day – 24 hours

• Until 08:00 on Friday 2nd January 2015 when GP’s resume normal working hours

Community Pharmacy Availability

Walsall has pharmacy coverage with 69 pharmacies across the borough, amongst which are five 100 hours pharmacies.

Community Pharmacies are expected to be open for their normal contracted hours on the days specified for the dispensing of prescriptions, pharmaceutical advice and the purchase of over the counter medication on the 25th and 26th December 2014 and 1st January 2015 are covered by a rota,

Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period

Emergency Ambulance Service

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WMAS) is commissioned to provide 24-hour 999 emergency services across the LHE.

The HALO availability will be planned with a view to matching the peak demand periods anticipated around the Bank Holiday weekends.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has its own escalation plan and also report on the RCMT EMS.

Dental Services

Dental patients in pain and who do not have a regular dentist can access the Dental services at Dental Access Centre (DAC), Blakenhall Meadow Health Centre.

Normal surgery hours (8.30am-5.00pm, Mon-Fri). Out of hours patients should call from 8.30am and the last call is taken at 12.00 noon.

Patients with protracted dental bleeding, trauma or swelling to the face, ie rapidly spreading infection, should go to the A&E department

Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period

Mental Health

Crisis Resolution Home Treatment

Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership Trust operate an Adult on-call system for all crisis mental health provision over a full 24 hour 365 days per year commissioned service.

Mental Health Psychiatric Liaison

There is an on-site Adult Psychiatric Liaison service operating within A & E who are available 7 days per week from 6am to 11pm. This team will also follow up on admission if a patient needs to be admitted due to physical health problems to support their mental health issues on the ward.

There is a further Alcohol Liaison worker located in the A&E department, this service is available Monday to Friday 9 – 5.

The acute hospital also accommodates the dementia liaison services which will manage and support people with dementia on the wards, this service operates Monday to Friday 9 – 5.

Tier 3+

From December 2014 the CCG will commission a crisis treatment at home service to provide out of hours support for children and adolescents requiring treatment and to assist with discharge from the acute hospital.

Crisis Car

From November 10th 2014 we will in partnership be piloting a crisis car service which will attend to people with mental health crisis in any public place. This service will be accessed via 111 or 999; the car will operate from 2pm – 2am Monday – Friday and 10am – 2am at weekends and bank holidays