Primary care latest updates

Strike action from junior doctors is expected to have a serious impact on NHS services across Northamptonshire in the run-up to Christmas and into the new year.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced that junior doctors will strike from 7am on Wednesday 20 December until 7am on Saturday 23 December, and then again from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January.

Local people are being urged to be ready for the impact of the industrial action – which is likely to result in longer waits or delayed treatment – and follow the advice of the NHS to ensure care is available to those who need it most.

Dr Imogen Staveley, Interim Chief Medical Officer for NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, said: “Junior doctors are qualified doctors with up to eight years’ experience working in hospitals or up to three years in general practice.

“They make up around half of all doctors in the NHS, so while staff will continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care during this latest strike action, there is likely to be a significant impact on local services at a time when the NHS is already under severe pressure.

“During these upcoming periods of industrial action, we will be prioritising emergency care, critical care, acute mental health care, neonatal care, maternity and trauma.

“The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

“At this time of year when vulnerable people are particularly at risk from ill-health, we also ask that people do what they can to look after loved ones and check in on family members and neighbours.
“We apologise to local people who are impacted by this action and thank them for their continued co-operation, patience and understanding.”

Options available to patients during strike action:

Patients with urgent health concerns
Anyone who needs urgent care (aged five and over) should use 111.nhs.uk to be assessed and directed to the right care for them. If needed a healthcare professional will call you back and this option can save you time in waiting areas. If you do not have internet access or you are contacting 111 about a patient aged under five, please call 111 instead.

Corby Urgent Care Centre is open every day between 8am and 8pm and can help with minor injuries/ illnesses such as lacerations, sprains, strains, minor burns or scalds.

GP practices will also continue to be open, including the enhanced access service (out of hours) but are also likely to be extremely busy. Please continue to contact your GP practice if you need GP services and the out of hours service can be reached via 111.nhs.uk

Remember you can also book appointments and order repeat prescriptions online or by using the NHS app.

Patients with minor illnesses and injuries
Your local pharmacy can help with minor illnesses like coughs, colds and red eye. They are open late and no appointment is needed.

Patients who need medical help or advice but are unsure where to go
Patients who need medical help or advice (aged five and over) but are unsure where to go, should contact NHS 111 online unless it unless it is a life-threatening emergency when you should still call 999. If you do not have internet access or you are contacting 111 about a patient aged under five, please call 111 instead.

Patients who have an appointment on strike days
Everyone who has an appointment should attend as planned unless your local NHS provider has contacted you to reschedule. If they have not contacted you, please attend your appointment.

Patients should continue to call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.

Read Junior doctors’ strikes to seriously impact NHS services in Northamptonshire…

Integrated Care Northamptonshire is inviting people with diabetes to share their experiences of diabetes care in Northamptonshire. It is important we hear the views and experiences of our patients so that we can understand what works well, and where we need to make improvements to better meet the needs of the people of Northamptonshire. 

We are asking people over 16 years of age with diabetes to complete a short questionnaire. The questionnaire asks questions about access to care and satisfaction with treatment and gives the respondent opportunities to tell us what they would like from their diabetes care.

The results will be used as part of a current review of diabetes pathways in Northamptonshire and will help to directly inform the review’s recommendations for changes to local services and pathways, to build equitable and sustainable services for the future.

Please support your service users to have their voices heard by sharing the survey with them.

Read Do you have service users with diabetes? Help them have their say…

Welcome to the November 2023 edition of ICN Today, Integrated Care Northamptonshire's e-newsletter for health and care colleagues, stakeholders and the wider community.

In this edition, we bring you updates on a new joint CEO for our acute hospitals, a rundown of our plans to prepare local health and care services for the winter ahead, and opportunities to help create a safe environment for staff to speak up against bullying, harassment and discrimination.

We're also very pleased to launch a collection of resources to support our ICB Five -Year Joint Forward Plan, there's news on great progress with the rollout of the Northamptonshire Care Record, and we launch our new Children and Young People's Mental Health Transformation Plan.

Meanwhile, Northamptonshire Children's Trust CEO Colin Foster takes his turn to tackle the Three in 60 Challenge, our planned Community Diagnostics Centre provision moves a step closer... and much more!

Read the November 2023 edition of ICN Today.

Do you want future editions of ICN Today emailed directly to your inbox? Become an ICN Today subscriber.

Find our ICN Today archive at icnorthamptonshire.org.uk/icntoday

Read November 2023 edition of ICN Today newsletter out now…

A collection of new resources – including an easy-to-access video – is now available to help explain the NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board Five-Year Joint Forward Plan.

The Joint Forward Plan was published earlier this year. It sets out how we plan to work together as an integrated care system over the next five years, in partnership with our local communities, to support the people of Northamptonshire to live healthier lives and enjoy equal access to better healthcare.

The new supporting resources are designed to accompany the Five-Year Joint Forward Plan and summarise its key elements in a way that is easy to understand. They include:

Explainer video

Key figures from our integrated care system explain what the Plan is about, what it sets out to achieve and what it means for you.

Leaflet

A 12-page summary leaflet to read online or to print. Download the leaflet.

Presentation pack

A slide deck for colleagues to download to help them tell the Five-Year Joint Forward Plan story in presentations. Download the presentation pack.

Our Five-Year Joint Forward Plan is guided by the wider 10-year ‘Live Your Best Life’ Strategy for Northamptonshire, and is also aligned with the emerging health and wellbeing strategies for North and West Northamptonshire.

Its publication is just the start of a continuing process, throughout which we will be involving and engaging with local communities to ensure that people’s voices and experiences are guiding the development and delivery of our plans.

Find our Five-Year Joint Forward Plan and all the accompanying resources online at www.icnorthamptonshire.org.uk/icb-plan

Read New resources provide insight into ICB Five-Year Joint Forward Plan…

In July 2023, NHS England published its plan for winter earlier than ever before, setting out actions systems and providers should take to build resilience ahead of what is likely to be another challenging winter.

These preparations build on the measures set out in the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan. More than £1bn revenue and £250 million of capital funding has been invested since the recovery plan was published to boost capacity and speed up discharge.

Chris Pallot, Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board said: “Although the NHS experiences year-round pressures, the winter months are traditionally its busiest and most challenged time.

“Locally we are working with partners to look at how we can increase bed capacity in our hospitals as we move through the winter months whether this is boosting specialist services to patients with an increased risk of requiring hospital treatment, including those who are frail or have long-term conditions, to minimise hospitalisations, providing intermediate care for patients who are ready to leave hospital but need additional support in their recovery before they return home and expanding our virtual wards to ensure more people can be cared for at home.”

Ten high impact priority interventions have been identified nationally, which support a safe and effective service for patients and systems have been asked to deliver these. These include:

• Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) – strengthening SDEC services to provide care for a minimum of 12 hours per day, 7 days a week
• Frailty – boosting services to detect more cases that could benefit from specific frailty advice and ensuring referrals to avoid admission
• Improving acute inpatient flow and length of stay – making sure patients stay in hospital for the shortest time medically necessary
• Improving community bed productivity and flow – ensuring patients receive community care as long as they need and receive support to continue their recovery when they leave hospital
• Care Transfer Hubs – ensuring all care transfer hubs are operating effectively as they connect with community partners to speed up discharge of patients
• Intermediate care demand and capacity – planning and commissioning the required amount and type of intermediate care needed to ensure timely discharge from acute settings
• Virtual wards – ensuring 10,000 virtual beds are in operation nationally by September 2023 to provide care for more people in their homes
• Urgent Community Response – appropriately assessing all patients who would benefit from urgent community care to avoid unnecessary transfer to hospital
• Single point of access – creating a consistent and coordinated system for health and care professionals to access when referring patients for UEC care
• Acute Respiratory Infection Hubs – providing same day urgent assessment for people experiencing respiratory conditions such as covid, flu, and RSV

In addition, the NHS is rolling out the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme, which provides vital protection to eligible individuals over winter, preventing people from developing serious illnesses, and helping to minimise hospitalisations during busy winter months.

Strengthening mental health support is also a key element of our winter plans, and locally we are looking to improve ambulance responses to mental health calls and avoid long lengths of stay in mental health inpatient settings.

The NHS is also introducing a number of new services this autumn and winter to improve capacity in General Practice and make it more convenient for patients with conditions like conjunctivitis and UTIs to receive treatment quickly and easily without the need for an appointment at participating pharmacies.

Read How your NHS is preparing for winter…