Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Urgent and Emergency Care, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), which summarised planning to manage winter pressures across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) in 2024/25 and provided an update on the COVID-19 and wider vaccination programme for the eligible population resident within LLR. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

The Committee welcomed to the meeting for this item Rachna Vyas, Chief Operating Officer, LLR Integrated Care Board, and Sarah Taylor, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, UHL.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           Whilst the winter pressures report traditionally covered measures in place to manage an increase in demand over winter, in reality demand had not significantly decreased during the summer of 2024 and therefore the winter levels of demand had become business as usual throughout the year. Demand was continuing to grow across all areas of healthcare. There was an increase in the severity of the conditions patients were presenting with which meant that they took longer to treat. One of the issues was patients being unable to access an appointment at their GP Practice so they were therefore attending other NHS services in the hope of accessing the treatment they required.

(ii)         In order to increase capacity some services were opening 7 days a week. GP Practices were opening on Saturdays, mainly staffed by Healthcare Assistants and practice nurses. There was also extra capacity at Glenfield Hospital and East Midlands Ambulance Service were now able to convey patients directly to services without visiting the Emergency Department first. Members noted that there were no new no initiatives being planned for winter 2024/25 and that they were already aware of all the measures in place. In response to a request from a member for more detail on the winter plan it was agreed that a link would be circulated to members after the meeting.

(iii)        Since the Covid-19 pandemic there had been a change in people’s lifestyles with more people working from home etc therefore people now wished to access medical services in a different way.

(iv)       The workforce plan for winter 2024/25 had been put in place using the evidence base from previous years. Given that having sufficient qualified staff was an issue across the health system it was important to attract and retain the right staff and take good care of their wellbeing.

(v)         It was important to ensure that people experiencing mental health needs knew where they could get help. The intention was to grant fund small projects that could help promote the mental health support available and increase awareness of services that were open during the winter months. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and the Local Area Coordinators run by Public Health were linking together on this.

(vi)       Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire had been asked by UHL to carry out a piece of research work into the patient experience of accessing health services over the winter, with a particular focus on people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.

(vii)      The Pharmacy First service was in place which enabled patients to receive treatment for minor illnesses or receive repeat prescriptions rather than visiting their GP. Pharmacies also offered vaccinations. In response to a query from a member as to whether the service offered by pharmacies was publicised enough it was explained that a lot of work had been carried out to raise awareness and since Pharmacy First began over 8000 patients had been seen by pharmacies and very few of those patients needed to subsequently book an appointment with their GP. However, it was acknowledged that more could be done to further publicise the service.

(viii)    The appendices to the report referred to an infection of the lungs known as pertussis but more commonly known as whooping cough and members emphasised the need to make it clear to the public what was being referred to when pertussis was mentioned.

RESOLVED:

That the plans in place to manage winter pressures across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) in 2024/25, and the update on the COVID-19 and wider vaccination programme for the eligible population resident within LLR, be noted.