Improving Accident and Emergency care

I am pleased to see that today the government published a major plan to improve urgent and emergency care services, with the aim to cut NHS waiting times.

The NHS is facing serious challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic and the worst flu season for over a decade. We saw the highest ever number of people attending A&E in December, which combined with high hospital occupancy rates means some patients are facing unacceptable delays. 

The government is already working to tackle waiting lists – raising health and social care funding to record levels, investing over £750 million this year to speed up the discharge of medically fit patients, and hiring a record number of doctors and nurses, which is welcome, but more still needs to be done. 

So it is good news that the government is launching an Urgent and Emergency Care Plan to fix A&E and ambulance waiting times over the next two years by: 

• Increasing capacity with £1 billion for more beds and ambulances; supported by more staff.

• Reducing pressure on hospitals by speeding up discharge; expanding new, innovative measures to treat patients safely in the community; and enhancing the role of NHS 111.

• Improving local A&E services by sharing and promoting best practice, so no matter where you live, you can get the care you need.

• I hope central and local government, local communities, NHS leaders and staff will be able to work together to help the NHS recover from the huge pressure it is under and the moment and cut waiting lists, with one of the fastest improvements in emergency waiting times in the history of the NHS, making sure people get the care they need easier, faster, and closer to home. 

WCH and Carlisle maternity services given top marks in CQC survey

Great news for North Cumbria today, particularly for expectant mums, as a survey from the  Care Quality Commission which is responsible for auditing the quality of NHS services gave top marks to maternity care at WCH and Carlisle.

This is really fantastic news both for what it says and because this kind of praise - representing improvements for which doctors, midwives and other caring staff in Cumbria's NHS have worked very hard - will make it easier to recruit and retain staff and further improve the sustainability of the service. 

Mums in north Cumbria are experiencing good care according to the results of a national maternity survey published today (Wednesday 11 January 2023).

In 2022, the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) national bi-annual Maternity Survey was sent to all women who gave birth in January and February last year. The survey asked women about their experiences of care across the pregnancy pathway from antenatal care, labour and birth and postnatal care.

Responses for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) – which runs maternity services at the Cumberland Infirmary, West Cumberland Hospital and Penrith Community Hospital - were received from 172 patients – a response rate of 57.91 per cent.

NCIC’s results were much better than most trusts for eight questions and were better than most trust’s for 17 questions. They were somewhat better than most trust’s for four questions and were the same as other trust’s for 22 questions.

The results rated the Trust as:

• ‘much better’ than others at giving women advice at the start of labour when they contacted a midwife or hospital with a score of 9.4/10 and for speaking to patients in a way they understood during labour with a score of 9.7/10. They also scored 9.7/10 for treating women with respect and dignity during labour.
•  ‘better’ than others when it came to staff introducing themselves when the patient was being examined 9.5/10, and having the confidence and trust in staff caring for the patient during labour and birth 9.4/10.
•  ‘somewhat better’ for the information given to pregnant ladies about coronavirus during maternity care 6.7/10 and for giving out information on the associated risks of an induced labour 7.4/10.

Amanda Kennett, Associate Director of Midwifery at NCIC (pictured below), said: “For women to be giving such positive feedback is fantastic and we are very pleased with the results of this year’s survey.

“I would like to thank our teams who work really hard to make sure that women feel safe, supported and well looked after before, during and after labour.

“While we are pleased with this year’s results, we are not complacent and will be examining the results further to see where we can improve for the future.”