You don't need to go to hospital (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

You don't need to go to hospital

8:16am Monday 25th June 2007

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A THREE year plan to reduce admissions to hospitals has been produced by Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.

The trust has produced an urgent care strategy which is for people who need urgent advice, care, treatment or diagnosis.

Among the targets in the strategy is to reduce by 40 per cent the number of people attending emergency departments at Swindon's Great Western Hospital, the Royal United Hospital at Bath and Salisbury District Hospital by March 2009 and a reduction of 30 per cent in emergency admissions to hospitals by March 2010.

The trust also wants to reduce the average length of stay by patients in community hospitals.

Currently it is 27.4 days and the trust wants this to be 20 days by March next year and seven days by March 2010.

The PCT says its new neighbourhood teams treating patients in their own homes is one of the services that will result in less hospital admissions.

In addition the Great Western Ambulance Service is recruiting more emergency care practitioners who are a higher grade of paramedics who will be able to administer treatment to enable the patient to stay at home.

Tony Barron, chairman of the PCT, said: "This is a very exciting strategy. If we achieve the targets it will be a significant change for delivery of health care. This is purely for the benefits of patients, enabling people to be treated closer to home by the right person at the right time."

The trust is currently talking to key stakeholders about the strategy and it is due to be endorsed at the trust's board meeting in September.

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