Derby and Burton hospitals boss opens up about winter challenges as demand hits waiting times

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which oversees Royal Derby Hospital and Queen’s Hospital in Burton, is planning for the added pressure of the winter season, which typically brings higher levels of demand for service, including respiratory illnesses.

Demand and pressure faced by staff is already above expected levels, the trust says, with an associated impact on waiting times.

This winter it is freeing up 29 beds at Royal Derby from this month onwards, is bringing in extra intensive care unit staff to support urgent cancer care, investing in additional orthopaedic assessment (knee and hip care) and trauma care capacity, speeding up waiting time in the pharmacy and bringing in a permanent minor illness and injuries urgent treatment service at the Queen’s A&E.

Prem Singh, chair of the trust, wrote in trust board papers this month: “Our staff continue to work incredibly hard and we have already started seeing some days of really intense pressure. They have continued to cope with resilience and flexibility.”

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Stephen Posey, the trust’s chief executive, wrote: “We start our preparations in the summer months because they allow us to be more responsive and flexible in the times of pressure that we expect. 

“We have seen days of significant and extended operational demands that have required a significant response from staff across our hospitals. For our teams it has not felt easy and at times they are having to make difficult decisions to ensure that safety is protected above all else. 

“We have additional bed spaces that we can use in times of pressure, and while these have naturally been fully risk assessed to make sure they are safe and clinically appropriate, we know they can sometimes impact the experience our patients have, as they can be in busy and normally unused areas.  The impact can also be that patients face longer waits than we would like. 

“Thank you to our patients and the local community for their patience and understanding, and importantly their kindness to our staff, in these challenging periods.

“Demand is running above expected levels across the urgent and emergency pathway, and collectively the NHS needs to take all possible steps to maintain and improve patient safety and experience as an overriding priority. We have planned additional interventions this winter in line with the demand we have seen in the year to date. 

“These adjustments to our capacity on both of our acute sites will help us to meet the further increase in demand we are likely to experience while minimising the clinical risks arising from crowding and long waits in our emergency departments. We will also be working closely with system partners to maintain a focus on ambulance response and offload and support effective discharge from hospital.

“We will continue to review and improve processes within our control and work with partners across the system so that we collectively manage urgent and emergency care demand as best we can together.”