NHS plans to tackle pressures in Emergency Care
The NHS have set out major plans to recover urgent and emergency care services. Their two-year delivery plan, which was published 30th January 2023, sets out how the NHS will reduce waiting times and improve patient experience.
Our recent work into emergency care
Healthwatch Lancashire, as part of Healthwatch Together, conducted a project in November-December 2021 exploring winter pressures and the effect this has on emergency departments, walk-in centres and urgent treatment centres.
The project was highly successful, and feedback was gathered from 565 people, across 17 sites across Lancashire and South Cumbria. Healthwatch Together formulated a range of recommendations, from improvements to the 111 service, to better communications around emergency care.
Our impact has been showcased and we are grateful to have been able to contribute to improving the pressures in urgent and emergency care services.
More about the delivery plan
Within the NHS plan, it has been proposed that frontline capacity will be boosted further thanks to 800 new ambulances, including 100 specialist mental health vehicles, and 5,000 more sustainable hospital beds backed by a £1 billion dedicated fund. There are plans for urgent care provided in the community to be expanded to ensure people can get the care they need at home, without the need for a hospital admission.
Other plans include:
- Supporting the workforce to work more flexibly, making it easier for them to work between hospitals and work in services like 111
- An increase in the number of emergency medical technicians.
These plans have been put in place to help achieve A&E four-hour performance of 76% by March 2024 and improve category two ambulance response times to an average of 30 minutes over the next year.