Shropshire health trust launches campaign to help with patient discharge problems

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs Telford's Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, has launched its first ever Let's Crack It fortnight which aims to see that patients get discharged as soon as they are medically fit to leave.

SaTH's chief executive Simon Wright said the trust's hospitals are having to cope with an extra 100 plus patients than they have capacity for, with a major problem being the length of time it takes to discharge patients compared with admitting them.

He said: "We have to break that cycle and get back to normality.

"There are a lot of patients that need care in the community and they may be waiting to leave for a number of reasons.

"This is about targeting those patients that don't need to be in hospital.

"The moment they are well enough to leave we need to encourage that process and get them home."

During SaTH's Let's Crack It fortnight, which launched on Monday, the trust says it will be working with local authorities and other community providers to keep 'patient flow' as smooth as possible.

It will involve a quicker turnaround on some test results, additional porters to facilitate patient moves and non-clinical staff being asked to clear their diaries to help on wards.

Patients are expected to receive an expected discharge date within 24 hours of being admitted and a senior review before midday, as part of the measures.

It comes as the trust's A&E departments are still facing pressure.

Mr Wright said its position was still "vulnerable" and a report to the trust's board, which meets today, says there is still a "substantial risk" that SaTH will be unable to safely manage two emergency departments overnight.

Talks are also continuing in a bid to secure a vital consultant which could halt the threat hanging over Telford’s A&E department.

Bosses are in talks with a locum doctor who they hope will step into the role of being a substantive consultant.

SaTH previously put in place a contingency plan to close A&E at PRH, for up to two weeks, if a substantive consultant could not be recruited on the rota.

It comes after a consultant resigned, leaving bosses worried about the safety implications of keeping both of the county’s A&E departments open 24 hours a day.

Mr Wright said bosses were also working with neighbouring health trusts, adding: "We need to make sure we are in a more stable place when we get to winter next year."

The accident and emergency departments have been under extreme pressure over the winter period.

In January, the trust was ranked the worst in the country for its A&E waiting times.

Around a third of patients had to wait longer than the four-hour government target, according to figures from NHS England.

It's performance figures for February only show a marginal improvement.