With winter comes all sorts of seasonal illnesses within adult social care, from the flu and norovirus to COVID-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Cold weather can also worsen many health conditions, particularly respiratory system diseases like asthma, so it’s no wonder that the NHS often faces increased pressure at this time of year.
Sadly, the elderly and those suffering from complex medical conditions tend to suffer the most, with many requiring additional doctor appointments and even hospital admissions.
With GPs and district nurses struggling under the increased care demand, support is available when it comes to adult social care.
With a passion for delivering personalised care no matter your support needs, Bluebird Care Bournemouth & Poole offers the highest quality home care tailored to individual needs. Contact us today for more information on our home-care services.
Adult Social Care Winter Pressures in General Practice
Seasonal illnesses often mean that winter is far busier than summer for GPs. More illnesses equals more patients. The phone often rings non-stop all day, particularly on a Monday morning after the practice has been closed for the weekend.
Many GPs also report an increase in challenging consultations over the cooler months, which makes it harder for them to get patients in and out quickly. The holiday season can also bring about an increase in people struggling with low mood, anxiety, depression, and social challenges. In these sorts of cases, the standard 10-minute consultation doesn’t feel like enough time to get to the bottom of the issue.
Seasonal illnesses also impact staff, with many doctors finding themselves off sick every few weeks. This results in appointments being cancelled or rescheduled, increasing the demand on clinicians who are still in.
Winter Pressures in Hospitals
Our hospitals also feel the pressure over the winter months, with increases in wait times for ambulances and many people being forced to wait for hours to be seen in A&E.
The number of beds in England has been falling for decades now due to shorter hospital stays and less invasive procedures, but this has meant an immense amount of pressure on existing beds at busier times. This is not helped by the rising demand for critical care beds, as patients in these beds will eventually need to be moved to a standard ward to make way for more urgent cases.
More planned operations are cancelled last minute, either due to administrative issues or because operating theatres are being taken up by emergency patients. This leaves many seniors and those with complex medical conditions waiting for elective surgeries that would greatly improve their quality of life.
Delayed discharge is also a problem over the winter, which is often a result of delays with district nursing, occupational and physical therapy, and community-based rehabilitation services. This can have devastating effects on older adults (as they are at greater risk of ‘deconditioning’). The longer the elderly stay in the hospital, the less likely they’ll be able to regain their independence upon discharge.
Pressures on Adult Social Care
Social care plays a vital role in helping people who need some extra assistance to remain as independent as possible in the comfort of their own homes. There is, however, a growing gap between the need for social care services and the NHS’ capacity to fulfil this.
Some of this is caused by the overflow of pressures placed on GPs and the hospital system, but the rest is due to a lack of sufficient investment in the social care sector.
Help Relieve Winter Pressures with Health & Wellbeing Checks
To support GPs and district nurses in providing quality care for their patients, Bluebird Care offers comprehensive health checks and monitoring as part of our standard service for our customers.
The check takes around 10 minutes, making it easy to integrate into the customer’s routine, with the score and interpretation available immediately for quicker decision-making. The results can also be shared directly with GPs to keep them informed and ensure coordinated patient care.
The health & wellbeing checks provided by Bluebird Care include:
- Temperature monitoring, for early detection of infections and other health issues.
- Blood pressure, to manage risks related to hypertension or hypotension.
- Levels of alertness, to identify changes that require attention.
- Blood oxygen levels, to ensure that patients with respiratory conditions maintain healthy oxygen saturation.
- Pulse rate, for monitoring overall wellbeing.
What are the benefits of health & wellbeing checks?
Having the team at Bluebird Care handle health & wellbeing checks for customers provides GPs and customers themselves with several benefits:
- It helps reduce the need for district nurses to carry out these routine checks, which frees up their time for more complex visits.
- It supports patient care by ensuring early detection of potential health issues, which can help prevent emergencies and hospitalisation from occurring.
- It provides both patients and their families with reassurance that their health is taken care of.
- It can help to facilitate safe hospital discharge when the patient is perhaps not properly fit for discharge.
- It can help GPs, district nurses, patients, and their families to identify the next steps required in the patient’s care plan.
Our health check service is suitable for both our elderly and complex care customers, and is offered completely free of charge to our customers as a way of enhancing the overall value of the care we provide.
Reduce the winter pressures on adult social care with health & wellbeing checks from Bluebird Care
At Bluebird Care, we understand all too well the pressures that the winter months can place on the NHS system and adult social care in particular. This is why we have sought to lessen the burden on GPs, district nurses, and hospitals through the provision of comprehensive wellbeing checks.
Offered as part of our customer onboarding process and at every review, you will have ample opportunity to explore this service and how it can benefit you.
If you are a GP, district nurse, or hospital and would like Bluebird Care to support your patients or you know of someone who could benefit from our health & wellbeing checks, get in touch with our team today to discuss the process in more detail.
