The NHS is under significant and sustained pressure and as the colder weather approaches this pressure will only increase.
Industrial action, increased household bills, and rising numbers of people seeking support for their wellbeing mean that this could potentially be the most challenging winter in NHS history.
We are working hard across South West London to expand capacity in our hospitals to help ensure critical services can be maintained if there is a surge in the number of people becoming unwell.
This includes a wide range of measures to prevent urgent and emergency care services from being overwhelmed, so hospital doctors and nurses, GPs as well as social care colleagues can continue to focus on those who most need care.
NHS England has provided an additional £13.1m for our six boroughs, specifically to increase the number of beds where people can be treated – both in the community and in hospitals – this equates to an additional 150 beds at the height of winter.
We have also put more support into community care to help people stay in the place they call home rather than hospital. This includes an Urgent Community Response service for falls and ‘virtual wards’ which closely monitor people from the comfort of their own home.
To help ensure more people are discharged from hospital with the right social care support in place quickly, South West London has received an additional £10.5m from the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, of which £4.5m will go directly to local authorities.
Our local GP practices will provide around 7,200 appointments every week, which is an increase of 690 appointments a week when compared to last year.
To ensure the NHS system is supported to work closely together and able to react quickly to any issues a 24/7 ‘System Command Centre’ has been stood up to monitor activity across the area.
For mental health services comprehensive plans have been drawn up with a clear focus on support in the community, but with hospital beds available if needed. We are also working with community and voluntary organisations to ensure people are easily able seek advice and support around the cost of living and their wellbeing.