Ayr hospital faces up to the pressure of winter

Jan 2 2009

EXTRA cash has been poured into coping with added pressure on Ayrshire hospital services this winter.

Twelve new beds have been opened for acute medical assessment at Ayr hospital.

And £300,000 will be pumped into supporting initiatives aimed at easing the burden on medical staff.

The number of people contacting out of hours and ambulance services traditionally soars in the winter months. And health chief Dr Kevin Woods explained that the cash should help ease the burden.

He said: “I’m also extremely encouraged that NHS boards across Scotland have robust plans in place, with extra beds, additional nursing and medical staff and 210 intensive care beds nationwide – more than at any previous time.

“Hospital staff will also be working hard to ensure accident and emergency patients are treated within our four-hour target time, which in September this year 98 per cent of attendees were.”

And Tim Davidson, who is chief executive of NHS 24, added: “We have been working very closely with local out-of- hours services, the Scottish Ambulance Service and accident and emergency services for several months, to ensure that out-of-hours care is available to people who need it over this time, and this will continue throughout the winter.

“People can be reassured that should they need to call NHS 24 they will receive the highest quality of care by trained and dedicated staff at our NHS 24 centres.

“We would also remind people that they have a huge range of quality self care advice at their fingertips at www.nhs24.com or by calling the NHS helpline on 0800 22 44 88.”