NHS Forth Valley's winter plans include reducing planned operations and increasing care home places

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NHS Forth Valley chiefs hope this winter will be better than last as they prepare for a surge in patients when the hospital is already full.

Members of the health board heard on Tuesday that Forth Valley Royal Hospital (FVRH) is preparing for the rise in numbers with a range of plans, from reducing non-emergency operations to increasing temporary care home places.

There will be no extra funding this year to cope with winter pressures but senior staff hope more joined up working across the "whole system" will help.

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Last year, by the time winter hit, the Larbert hospital was already packed with extra beds that had been placed into wards in a bid to cope with the numbers that were well above the hospital's capacity.

A report to board members made clear that having contingency beds "led to a poorer patient experience of care and extended lengths of stay".

While some of those extra beds are still in place, efforts have been made to gradually reduce their numbers.

Planning started inJune to find ways to be more prepared for this year's expected surge, although they admit it will be a challenge.

The hospital remains at over 100 per cent capacity and much of the focus has been on social care where problems can lead to delayed discharge, tying up vital beds.

Last year, the report admits that delayed discharge numbers were too high, with an average number of 130 patients delayed in December.

This year the capacity of hospital at home has increased, while additional care home beds have been booked for over the winter period.

More patients who no longer need to be in hospital but will need longer term care are now being discharged to be assessed at home.

Non-urgent inpatient surgery will decrease until March 2025, in a bid to reduce the number of cancellations that happened last year.

Day surgery will continue, as will urgent and cancer inpatient care.

The board heard that a new system is now being used that makes clear where the pressures are building up, allowing managers to respond quickly.

The bad weather at the weekend had been a useful test of the plan, although it also revealed how quickly the pressures can escalate.

Chief executive Ross McGeachy said: "It is a live plan so its something we will continue to change and update as we go.

"We had the poor weather on Saturday, so we're doing a bit of reviewing on the back of that."

Another crucial factor to keep hospital numbers lower, they say, will be to make sure vulnerable people are vaccinated against illnesses such as flu and Covid.

Members of the public are also being urged to get advice from local pharmacies whenever possible.

Keeping people out of hospital will be vital as recent figures show the pressures its Emergency Department continues to face, with just 46.5 per cent of patients for the year to date were seen and treated or discharged within the four-hour target.

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