The NHS in Devon has entered the highest level of escalation in light of the continued pressures on health services in the county.
All partners across Devon’s health and social care system have been working hard to take action to mitigate the disruption during a period of winter pressures, staff sickness and industrial action and are now preparing to deploy further measures.
These measures include some hospitals reducing visiting hours or re-directing people from hospital emergency departments to other services which are more appropriate for their medical needs, if it is safe to do so.
Dr Nigel Acheson, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Devon, said: “It’s vital that those who need medical help come forward as they usually would – using 999 and A&E in life threatening emergencies and 111 online for everything else alongside their GP practices and pharmacies.
“However, people need to be prepared that they may be asked to do something slightly different this weekend. I recommend that people should check their local hospital’s website and social media for the latest updates.”
Devon’s acute hospitals in Plymouth, Exeter, Torbay and Barnstaple are also seeing increased cases of norovirusthis week; a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
To prevent the spread of infection, some hospital wards in Devon have had to be closed, which further reduces capacity at an already exceptionally busy time.
Norovirus can spread very easily, for example through:
• Close contact with someone with norovirus
• Touching surfaces or objects that have the virus on them, then touching your mouth
• Eating food that’s been prepared or handled by someone with norovirus
Staff at Devon’s hospitals are working hard to treat people as quickly and safely as possible.
Local people can help the NHS by:
Record strikes by junior doctors are also taking place amidst one of the most difficult starts to the year for health services in Devon. The current period of industrial action ends at 7am on Tuesday 9 January and is the longest consecutive strike action ever taken in the history of the NHS.
Dr Acheson concluded; “January is always one of the most pressured times for the NHS in Devon. Six days of industrial action on top of an already busy time is making it extremely challenging for hospitals to maintain safe services this week.”
The message from the NHS in Devon is that urgent and emergency care will be there for you during the strikes, but please choose the right service for your needs. The advice for patients is to:
• Continue to call 999 in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk
You can join us on our social media pages, follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Threads where you can keep up to date with whats going on in South Devon.
Got a news story, blog or press release that you’d like to share or want to advertise with us? Get in touch via email admin@wearesouthdevon.com
