THE current news arena is dominated by two massive stories: the appalling massacres in Paris and the pressures on NHS accident and emergency departments.

Whilst the tragedy in Paris is of enormous importance to our own security, I suspect the issues regarding our own NHS in Worcestershire is of more immediate concern to Wyre Forest residents.

I have been in touch with the Acute Hospitals Trust and they, like the rest of the country, are facing the same pressures. All trusts prepare for the winter and as a matter of course, all of us Worcestershire MPs meet regularly with the trust to learn about their plans for the winter surge. More beds are brought online and more doctors and nurses recruited to meet the pick-up in demand.

But the current extra demand is particularly linked to flu and respiratory illness.

Many of these patients are over 75 and need to be admitted to hospital.

Because they are frail and need more care, they cannot be discharged without having a decent View from Westminster care package in place. If that is not immediately available, they can end up staying in beds that are needed for other A&E patients.

Demand for ambulances is up 13 per cent compared to the same period last year. West Midlands Ambulance paramedics are treating record numbers of people at the scene so around half the patients seen do not have to be admitted to hospital.

Other initiatives include putting a GP in the minor injuries unit (MIU) in Kidderminster so not just minor injuries but also minor illnesses can be dealt with.

This alone should be able to divert up to 14 patients a day from other A&E departments locally. The smaller MIUs in Bromsgrove, Tenbury, Evesham and Malvern are relatively under-used and so provide some slack in the system, and pharmacists are well-placed to give advice on minor ailments.

The system is certainly creaking and when the pressure eases, there will be a time to seriously look at how we can link the various services – police, fire, social services, GP surgeries – to work together to help the acute A&E departments.

CONTACT YOUR MP

  • Email: mark.garnier.mp@parliament.uk
  • Telephone: 020 7219 7198 or 01562 746771
  • Write: 9a Lower Mill Street, Kidderminster, DY11 6UU, or House of Commons, Westminster, London