Frimley looks to keep patients out of hospital amid A&E pressures at Wexham Park

Wexham Park Hospital is under pressure as the number of A&E visits – especially by Slough residents – is climbing amid difficult financial times for the hospital trust.

At a Windsor and Maidenhead Health and Wellbeing Board on Tuesday, Frimley Health and Care (part of the group that runs Wexham Park) gave an update on how the figures are looking.

Stephen Dunn, system director of delivery, said there has been a five per cent year-on-year increase in demand. Compared to last month, there has been an extra 50 patients per day at Wexham Park.

He said Frimley was working on improving access to urgent and emergency services and targeting these deprived populations, partly at looking at ways to use its money differently.

In addition to emergency services, there has been a five per cent year-on-year increase in use of primary care services, which includes GPs other services that are the ‘front door’ of the NHS.

Mr Dunn said access to primary care and A&E services ‘is clearly important’ but that this is ‘a very challenging financial and service delivery environment.’

To ease the pressure on these services, Frimley is working on an Urgent and Emergency Care Transformation Plan for the winter.

Among other aims, it is looking to:

W Minimise the length of stay in urgent care – this weakens the elderly in particular, who are then less able to continue daily living activities

• Take advantage of community beds, for mental health care among other uses
• Improve crisis and community response to support people not to have to return to hospital
• Support acute respiratory infection hubs, creating additional capacity if there is a surge in these conditions.
• Continue with ‘virtual wards’ – using remote monitoring and virtually catching up with patients.

“We've had a real focus on getting people back home as quickly as possible without the need for costly packages of care or residential packages,” said Mr Dunn.

Frimley also wants to get the message out about getting flu and COVID jabs and

The trust has the highest number of primary care same day appointments in Southeast – though Frimley ‘want[s] that to be higher than they are.’

It also has the highest number of virtual appointments and the most virtual wards/beds in the country, increases seen in the post-pandemic years.

Face-to-face appointments remain at the same level.

To further help ease the pressures, £2million extra funding is being granted this year to Frimley increase primary care access.

This might allow it to increase primary care appointments by 100,000 this winter.

Frimley’s financial situation is ‘really challenged’ as it has a £12million shortfall.

However, it is still forecasting to break even this financial year.