Continued pressures on our services

Following the festive break and over the past few days, we have experienced extreme demand across our services, particularly in our Emergency Departments at Yeovil Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital and as a result of significant increase in the number of flu and respiratory illness cases.

Our colleagues have worked incredibly hard during this period of huge demand, to see and treat our patients as quickly as possible and while our services continue to be extremely busy, we have seen a current improvement in the pressures we are experiencing.

We are very grateful to our colleagues, our patients and those that matter to them the most, our carers, our communities and our healthcare partners for their ongoing support.

Thank you for continuing to be patient and kind to our colleagues throughout this winter period - they are doing their very best to care for you, at times of extreme pressure.

What actions are we taking

Patient safety is our top priority and colleagues from across the trust are working together to ensure that we can continue to provide urgent and emergency care for all patients, and to keep as many routine services running as possible, during these increased winter pressures.

We are also working closely with our health and care partners across the county, to ensure that patients who are ready to leave hospital can be discharged, at the earliest opportunity.

What does this mean?

At times of high demand, our Emergency Departments can become extremely busy, if you can, please try to attend alone, as space is currently very limited in the waiting areas. Our colleagues are working hard to prioritise patients based on clinical need and for non-urgent cases, this may include longer waiting times in the Emergency Department and you may be re-directed to alternative healthcare services, such as NHS 111, our Urgent Treatment Centres, or you may be advised to contact your GP or visit a local pharmacy.

We may also need to postpone some non-urgent, planned treatments and appointments. If we need to change any planned appointments we will try to give as much notice as possible, but on occasion, we may need to make some last-minute changes to planned procedures or appointments.

If you have an appointment, please attend as planned. Please don’t call to check if your appointment is going ahead. We will contact you directly if we need to make any changes to your planned care.

If you are visiting our sites and you have symptoms of flu, COVID-19 or RSV, please consider not visiting to help prevent the spread of winter illnesses to our vulnerable patients, and to our hard-working colleagues. If you do need to attend and have symptoms, please wear a mask which can be found at the entrance to our sites. Masks are also available across our services for patients who wish to wear one.

Which service should I access?

It is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

For non-urgent care needs, we would encourage you to seek help from NHS 111, before attending our hospital sites. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can also visit the NHS UK website.

• If you have a life-threatening emergency, our ED is open 24 hours a day

• If you have an urgent medical problem that isn’t a serious or life-threatening emergency and aren’t sure what to do, contact 111 first by phone or online at 111.nhs.uk– they will provide immediate medical advice and direct you to the best care for your needs

• Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC) / Minor Injury Units: Attend your local UTC for urgent not life-threatening conditions and injuries such as sprains, fractures and burns. For the latest information on opening hours and services, visit the MIU pages

• Maternity Services: If you become unwell or have any concerns about your heath, including your baby’s movements, we advise you to call us as soon as possible for advice. Our maternity services are open 24/7.

• Pharmacy: Visit your local pharmacy for headaches, upset stomachs, aches and pains

• GP surgeries: please continue to contact your GP surgery as usual

• Mental health support: Somerset’s Open Mental Health Alliance offers support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – and there really is no wrong door when it comes to accessing mental health support.

• Self-care: Visit NHS 111 online for self-care advice for things like grazed knees, coughs and colds

NHS England have also published some advice this week about winter pressures and how to help prevent the spread of winter illnesses, please:

• Do not visit loved ones in hospital if you have symptoms of a cough, cold, respiratory illness, diarrhoea or vomiting
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, as this is the best way to stop it spreading. Alcohol hand gels do not kill norovirus
• Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you come down with a winter bug and do not feel well enough to do your normal activities. Follow simple self-care tips from nhs.uk
• Get your flu vaccine from your GP practice, local pharmacy or vaccination centre. Some people are eligible for the free vaccine, including over-65s, people with long term conditions like stroke or heart disease and pregnant people. You can find out more information about the flu vaccine on the NHS Somerset website page and you can also Find a pharmacy that offers free flu vaccination - NHS.

Further information on NHS services, opening hours and waiting times can also be found by downloading the NHS Quicker App. 

You can find more information about healthcare services across Somerset on the NHS Somerset website.