A joint letter to the residents of Cwm Taf Morgannwg

A joint letter to the residents of Cwm Taf Morgannwg.

“We want to be completely honest with you about the scale of the challenge we are facing this winter.”

Dear resident,

Winter is here, and normally, as health and local councils, we would be finalising our plans on how we will deal with the pressures the colder weather brings us every year.

This year is very, very different.

The pressure on all of our services is already here and that is before we get into the peak of winter.

Emergency Departments (EDs) in the three local hospitals are extremely busy.  Ambulance services are severely stretched with high levels of demand meaning they cannot respond as quickly as they should. GPs and colleagues working out in our communities are under enormous pressure from urgent and routine appointments, as well as the high number of people needing support at home.  Social Care teams are working hard to discharge patients from our hospitals with the right package of care for their needs.  The whole health and social care system is under immense pressure from increased demand and the on-going challenges of managing Covid-19 across our services.  Our staff are working hard to respond to these pressures but we know that many of you will have first-hand experience of the delays and long waits for care that we are currently seeing.

Many people in our hospitals are actually ready to leave and go home but need to have services and care set up to support them on discharge.  However, we have real challenges finding care at home at the moment which can lead to delays in people leaving hospital. This means that there are fewer available beds for the patients coming through Emergency Departments, which in turn causes ambulances to have to wait outside until they can handover patients to the hospital, which then affects paramedics’ availability to respond to 999 calls in the community.  Equally, if our hospital beds are full with patients who have come in as emergencies or have Covid-19, we are unable to bring in patients for their planned operations, which means people waiting for surgery such as hip operations have to wait longer in pain for their procedure.  Currently we have thousands of people in our community waiting for surgery and we need to get these people treated as quickly as possible.

This is a bleak picture, but we want to be completely honest with you about the scale of the challenge we are all facing.

We want to reassure you that we are working together across the Health Board, the ambulance service and the three local authorities to try and ensure we do everything we can to deal with the high levels of demand and to provide the best care possible in the current circumstances.

However, we cannot do this alone. 

Though, we are focussed and determined, we are going to need your help. 

If we work together on this, then together we will get through the months ahead.  Without your support, we will struggle to help those who need us most.

You may be surprised at what you can do that will make such a huge difference to us all.  To help us help you, please:

• Take up the offer of having both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the booster jab.  The new variant Omicron means this is even more important and will see you offered a booster by the end of this month.
• Have your winter flu jab.
• Continue to be vigilant about COVID-19.  Please follow the rules that are in place to try to get the spread of coronavirus under control.  That means,
  • wearing masks where required
  • getting tested (regularly using lateral flow devices or by a PCR if you have symptoms or advised to do so)
  • Following the latest self-isolation guidance

• Choose the right service for your healthcare needs.  If you need care for minor injuries or minor illnesses (such as a sore throat, conjunctivitis, common cold), then your local pharmacy can help you. 

• Our minor injury units treat a wide range of injuries (such as sprains, fractures, scratches, bites) rather than heading straight to the Emergency Department.
• Think carefully before attending our Emergency Departments. Could you seek online advice from NHS 111 Wales symptom checker https://111.wales.nhs.uk/, or your GP practice, or attend a minor injuries unit or pharmacy for advice?
• Your GP has been, and still is, here for you.  Their doors have remained open throughout the pandemic, it is just that the way you go through those doors has changed. Telephone and remote consultations can be a real timesaver in making sure you get the right help for your needs.  If your GP needs to see you for a face-to-face consultation, then they will arrange this. Please think before contacting the GP whether you could get advice from a pharmacist or NHS 111 Wales.
• Tell us if you cannot make a hospital appointment.  In August and September this year, 15,000 patients did not attend for their appointments and did not let us know.  We are working hard to try to reduce our waiting lists, please help us by playing your part.  Equally, if you are on a waiting list for an outpatient appointment but no longer think you need it, then please let us know.
• Finally, if you have a loved one who is in one of our hospitals but is well enough to go home and there is a way you can support them, please speak to us.  This will help us free up beds for other patients with urgent care needs.

We know we are asking you to play a big role in helping us through this winter. 

We ask, because you have done it before.  You have stood by us and with us since day one of the pandemic, and that is why we are asking for your help again.

Thank you and please help us all keep our communities safe this winter.