Winter Plan
14/15
Context
Overview
Walsall CCG’s Winter Plan is an integral part of its
overall Surge Plan which draws together a
number of documents aimed at both managing
surges in activity from winter and unexpected
surges in demand.
It describes services which can be brought into
operation if demand increases unexpectedly.
Walsall CCG’s role
Walsall CCG has a coordinating role in ensuring
that the plans and services required for winter
are identified and appropriately resourced while
ensuring that providers have flexibility to deliver
services as required, in a safe manner to an
acceptable quality.
This presentation will cover -
• Context
• Integrated planning
• Infection prevention
• Capacity management over Christmas/ New
Year
Integrated planning
The surge plan pulls together ingredients from
the following documents:
• Systems Resilience Plan 2014/15
• Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Re-ablement Plans
Together these plans outline the services and
contingencies that are in place across Walsall.
This plan builds on the work undertaken in
previous years and the surge planning exercises.
The Walsall Health and Social Care System is
working together to plan and implement a
programme of actions to improve our
performance across the urgent care pathway.
We are clear that we have a whole system
problem that requires a whole system solution
involving all four partners.
Across the Local Health and Social Care Economy
there are a number of joint committees which
focus on ensuring that collaborative approaches
are taken in the planning of services.
Meetings which are established throughout the
year:• System Resilience Group
• Community Services Redesign Group
• Walsall Resilience Committee (LA)
• Black Country Urgent Care leads meeting
Infection prevention
Headlines:
The profile of infection prevention control has
been raised across Walsall Health Economy.
Working as a team Public Health England, Walsall
Public Health and DWMHPT and WHT infection
prevention teams work together to provide
advice and support to organizations to prevent
infection and to manage outbreaks.
A borough-wide task and finish group has been
established to oversee the planning for the
seasonal flu immunisation programme for
2014/15. The group reports to SQP.
Targets of the flu immunisation campaign
2014/15:
• To reach or exceed 75% uptake for people
aged 65 years and over
Toolkits to provide advice on management of
outbreaks are available for acute and residential
care settings as well as schools and nurseries.
• To reach or exceed 75% uptake by 2014/15
for people under age 65 with risk factors
from the effects of flu
Debrief sessions are held following outbreaks in
Trusts and residential care settings to learn
lessons and to continually improve management
of incidents.
• To ensure that every employer has
ambitious flu immunisation programmes for
frontline health and social care workers to
significantly improve upon their current
uptake
• To reach or exceed 75% uptake for all
frontline employees
Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period
GPs/ Primary Care
GP practices remain responsible for their
patients from 08:00 until 18:30, Monday to
Friday excluding bank holidays. Out of hours
cover is provided by Badger Group.
Out of hours arrangements are in place to
provide access to GPs from 18:30 – 08:00, all day
Saturdays and Sundays and through bank
holidays where individual practices are closed.
Access to Out of Hours Service is via 111.
• Christmas Eve GP practices are responsible for
providing services to their patient between
8.00 am and 6.30pm
• Closed Christmas Day
• Closed Boxing Day
• Closed Saturday 27th December
• Closed Sunday 28th December
• Normal GP working hours resume on Monday
29th December 2014 from 08.00 am & 6.30pm
• New Year’s Eve GP practices are responsible
for providing services to their patient between
8.00 am and 6.30pm
• Closed New Year’s Day – 1st January 2015
• Normal GP working hours resume on Friday
2nd January 2015 from 08:00
Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period
GP Out Of Hours
• Out of Hours services in the Walsall Borough
area are provided by Badger Group.
• Therefore Badger will cover:
• Christmas Eve from 18:30
• Christmas Day – 24 hours
• Boxing Day – 24 hours
• Saturday 27th December – 24 hours
• Sunday 28th December – 24 hours
• Until 08:00am Monday 29th December when
GP’s will resume normal working hours
• New Years Eve from 18:30
• New Years Day – 24 hours
• Until 08:00 on Friday 2nd January 2015 when
GP’s resume normal working hours
Community Pharmacy Availability
Walsall has pharmacy coverage with 69
pharmacies across the borough, amongst which
are five 100 hours pharmacies.
Community Pharmacies are expected to be open
for their normal contracted hours on the days
specified for the dispensing of prescriptions,
pharmaceutical advice and the purchase of over
the counter medication on the 25th and 26th
December 2014 and 1st January 2015 are
covered by a rota,
Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period
Emergency Ambulance Service
Dental Services
West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
(WMAS) is commissioned to provide 24-hour 999
emergency services across the LHE.
Dental patients in pain and who do not have a
regular dentist can access the Dental services at
Dental Access Centre (DAC), Blakenhall Meadow
Health Centre.
The HALO availability will be planned with a view
to matching the peak demand periods
anticipated around the Bank Holiday weekends.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has its own
escalation plan and also report on the RCMT
EMS.
Normal surgery hours (8.30am-5.00pm, MonFri). Out of hours patients should call from
8.30am and the last call is taken at 12.00 noon.
Patients with protracted dental bleeding, trauma
or swelling to the face, ie rapidly spreading
infection, should go to the A&E department
Capacity Management – Christmas New Year period
Mental Health
Crisis Resolution Home Treatment
Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership
Trust operate an Adult on-call system for all crisis
mental health provision over a full 24 hour 365
days per year commissioned service.
Mental Health Psychiatric Liaison
There is an on-site Adult Psychiatric Liaison
service operating within A & E who are available
7 days per week from 6am to 11pm. This team
will also follow up on admission if a patient
needs to be admitted due to physical health
problems to support their mental health issues
on the ward.
There is a further Alcohol Liaison worker located
in the A&E department, this service is available
Monday to Friday 9 – 5.
The acute hospital also accommodates the
dementia liaison services which will manage and
support people with dementia on the wards, this
service operates Monday to Friday 9 – 5.
Tier 3+
From December 2014 the CCG will commission a
crisis treatment at home service to provide out
of hours support for children and adolescents
requiring treatment and to assist with discharge
from the acute hospital.
Crisis Car
From November 10th 2014 we will in partnership
be piloting a crisis car service which will attend
to people with mental health crisis in any public
place. This service will be accessed via 111 or
999; the car will operate from 2pm – 2am
Monday – Friday and 10am – 2am at weekends
and bank holidays