nhs Archives - Page 6 of 16 - The Stray Ferret

GPs ‘extremely concerned’ about new housing in Harrogate

NHS managers have objected to plans for 49 homes at Kingsley Farm in Harrogate and warned that the town’s health infrastructure has “very limited capacity”.

The homes, which have been proposed by Quarterly Kingsley Ltd, are earmarked for the north and north east of the site off Kingsley Road.

The developer said in a planning statement submitted to Harrogate Borough Council the scheme would help to offer a “sense of place”.

However, Nick Brown, of the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, has objected to the plan.

In a letter to the council, he warned GPs were “extremely concerned” about further development within Harrogate.

He said:

“As primary care providers, the GPs and primary care networks are extremely concerned regarding any proposals for further residential development within Harrogate.

“The existing health infrastructure in Harrogate already operates above optimum capacity and has very limited capacity to absorb additional pressures.

“Primary care and community services within the area are already running at, or far beyond their existing capacity.”

The Kingsley area has seen multiple planning applications lodged to build houses on Kingsley Farm, including a revised proposal for 162 homes by Persimmon Homes.

Residents in the area have long held concerns about the amount of housebuilding in the area and its affect on traffic, noise and loss of green space.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the Kingsley Farm proposal at a later date.

Ambulance workers form picket line in Harrogate today

Striking ambulance workers are operating a picket line in Harrogate today.

Members of the GMB union began their 24-hour action at Harrogate Ambulance Station, which is on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital, at midnight.

They were joined by members of Unison at noon.

It is the second time staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have gone on strike in the last month, although they continue to respond to the most serious category one calls.

GMB rep and paramedic Neil Summers told the Stray Ferret the state of the NHS was the main reason for the industrial action. He said:

“We are literally sitting outside hospitals with patients in our ambulances for hours and hours because they have nowhere to go.

“The hospitals are full and it means we are not able to do our jobs. We hear calls for cardiac arrests and can’t do anything.”

Todays picket line

Mr Summers said York Hospital was particularly bad but paramedics could still be waiting at Harrogate District Hospital for “up to three or four hours”.

He said there needed to be greater investment in the NHS as well as social care to ease problems caused by bed-blocking.

He said pay was also a concern, as many staff had not had an increase in wages for years.

“My pay isn’t terrible but some people’s is appalling.”

Picket line Jan 2023

The pickets have been joined today by local campaigner Lindis Percy, a former nurse, midwife and health visitor. She said:

“What’s going on in the the health service is shocking and this government has caused it.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning the NHS is under “very severe pressure”.

He added the government has announced further investment for emergency departments, as well as looking into ways of targeting how to get patients who are fit to leave into social care.

NHS objects to planned 1,300-home development on Ripon barracks

NHS managers in North Yorkshire have objected to a proposed 1,300-home scheme on the Ripon barracks site due to funding concerns for local healthcare.

The scheme, which has been submitted by government housing agency Homes England, would see houses built on the site off Clotherholme Road.

The Clotherholme development would encompass Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks.

The proposal was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in September 2020.

However, in a letter to the authority, NHS Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has objected to the plan.

Andrew Dangerfield, head of primary care transformation at the organisation, said the method used by Homes England to assess healthcare need as a result of the new homes was “at odds” with the NHS.

He added that the developer had offered “zero” section 106 contributions to help mitigate demand as a result of increased population due to the scheme.

Mr Dangerfield said:

“The ICB is concerned about Homes England’s overall approach to health, they have sought to provide zero S106 contributions towards the provision of healthcare infrastructure on a development of significant scale (circa 3,000 people), using a methodology which is at odds with the NHS commissioners and local healthcare partners.

“The ICB, who has direct expert knowledge of the local surgeries in the area and is responsible for the commissioning of healthcare services have consistently outlined that the existing practices do not have capacity to absorb the population created by the 1,300 homes coming forward as part of this application, and therefore have requested mitigation in the form of a S106 contribution.”

Mr Dangerfield added that should no contributions towards healthcare be made, then the development “cannot be considered sustainable”.

In October 2020, NHS North Yorkshire CCG – which preceded the integrated care board – said in a letter to the borough council that it was seeking £553,128 from Homes England in contributions to health.

The Stray Ferret has asked Homes England to comment on the concerns, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The planned homes in Ripon will include a significant number of two- and three-bedroom mid-range houses and will include apartments in the centre.

It also includes a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.

A decision on the scheme is expected to be made by Harrogate Borough Council at a later date.

Ambulance workers in Harrogate district begin strike

A picket line is in place outside Harrogate Ambulance Station today in the latest round of strikes.

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have walked out as part of a national dispute over pay and conditions. A second day of strikes is due to take place on December 28.

Vehicles tooted their horns in support of members of the GMB union picketing on Lancaster Park Road, which is on the same street at Harrogate Disrict Hospital.

Nurses and firefighters have also showed their support and a local cafe dropped off hot chocolate to strikers shivering besides a fire.

Union organiser Katherine Mitchell told the Stray Ferret GMB staff were striking today from one minute past midnight until 10pm. Ms Mitchell said members of Unison were due to join the action at noon today.

She said about 60 staff were employed at Harrogate Ambulance Station and they would continue to respond to the most serious category one incidents during the strike. Some strikers had already been called in to deal with such incidents, she added.

Several staff said the dispute was not only about pay but also about conditions and the state of the NHS. One person said they had waited four hours outside Harrogate District Hospital recently with a patient because the hospital did not have enough staff to escort the person away.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning NHS contingency plans would not cover all 999 calls and that “ambulance unions have taken a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients” — which drew an angry response from union leaders.

Rail and postal workers in the Harrogate district have been on strike this winter, but Harrogate District Hospital was not included in the first two days of nurses strikes. Firefighters are expected to be balloted in the new year over strike action.

Staffing problems still affecting mental health services for Harrogate district residents

Mental health services for people across the Harrogate district still require improvement, according to the health regulator.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the services provided by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) were below the standards expected.

However, inspectors said there had been some improvements since the last inspection report in December 2021.

At that time, TEWV’s forensic in-patient and secure ward services were found to be inadequate, with the trust ordered to make urgent improvements. Now, the service is rated ‘requires improvement’, though the ‘safe’ aspect of the inspection is still rated ‘inadequate’.

The report said:

“Fifteen patients we spoke to raised concerns regarding there not being enough staff on the wards. Patients told us staff spent a lot of time in the office which sometimes made them feel neglected.

“Two patients told us that they had not received their prescribed medication on the day we arrived due to staffing. Another patient told us they did not know who their key worker was.

“However, most patients said that staff were caring towards them.”

In-patient and secure wards for Harrogate district residents are provided elsewhere in the north-east after the mental health unit at Harrogate District Hospital, the Briary Ward, was closed down in 2020. The CQC inspection of TEWV’s services was carried out at Roseberry Park Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The Briary Wing, Harrogate District Hospital, which was closed in May 2020.

Inspectors said data provided about staffing levels over an eight-week period suggested the service was regularly understaffed to an unsafe level. However, managers said the data was inaccurate and there was always a nurse and support staff on duty.

The report said:

“Staff were frequently being moved to different wards during their shift based on risk, which meant they were often working in environments and with patients they were unfamiliar with.

“This was impacting on several areas within the service; incident data showed staff were not always able to provide a timely response to incidents. Staff were unable to carry out all clinical duties on time, such as administering medication and completing clinical audits.

“Staff were regularly unable to take their breaks off the ward. Patient’s hospital ground leave, Section 17 leave (permission to leave the hospital) and visits from friends and family were being cancelled daily at short notice.

“Patients told us they felt neglected and did not have enough time with staff. Carers we spoke to highlighted staffing pressures as a concern and felt it was impacting on patient’s continuity of care and their ability to visit their loved ones.”

Areas for improvement

The CQC set out 12 areas where the service must be improved in order to meet legal requirements, including adequate staffing levels, cleaning all wards, ensuring staff have up-to-date training, and reporting all incidents quickly and accurately

Naomi Lonergan, care group director of the secure inpatient services at TEWV, said:

“We have been working hard to improve the service since the previous Care Quality Commission inspection in June 2021 and we are encouraged by the improvement in the rating.

“We have recruited 70 health care assistants since the last inspection and we are working with local universities to support the recruitment of registered nurses. This is in addition to developing an international recruitment strategy which is already making a difference.

“We have set up a health care assistant council and one for nurses to improve how colleagues contribute to the quality of care within our trust.

“We are also focused on creating a community on our wards, through the work we do with our recovery and outcomes team who put on events and activities for people in our care that help their recovery.

“We recognise that there is more to be done. This includes an unrelenting focus on patient safety with our absolute priority being on safe staffing and safeguarding our patients. We continue to prioritise the experience of our patients, their carers and colleagues to make the improvements we need to and we are confident the service is making these changes and will continue to do so.”

Children’s mental health services ‘requires improvement’

Meanwhile, TEWV’s specialist community mental health services for children and young people which were rated ‘inadequate’ in the ‘safe’ category last year have now been rated ‘requires improvement’.

In a report published in September, following inspections over the summer, the CQC said:

“Although staffing levels, caseloads and waiting times for treatment had improved since the last inspection, the service did not always have enough nursing and support staff to keep patients safe. Vacancy rates varied by team…

“Caseload sizes had reduced across the community teams. Most of the staff told us there had been significant improvements to caseload sizes and caseloads were more manageable. Only two of the staff we spoke with raised concerns about staffing levels and caseload sizes.”

Inspectors said a recruitment drive meant two new matrons were about to begin work, with a focus on managing staff caseloads.

The average waiting time for treatment had reduced to 104 days, compared to 371 days in 2021, and the number of children waiting more than 12 months had reduced to 275 from more than 1,000 in the same time period.

The CQC, which inspected six teams within the community mental health service for children, said TEWV must adequately staff its service and continue to work to reduce waiting times.

Brent Kilmurray, chief executive of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We are pleased that the CQC have raised the rating for our community children and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) in the safe category.

“The CQC report acknowledges improvements that have been made, including how quickly we responded to address the issues identified at the previous inspection. It also recognises that we are achieving our targets of maintaining contact with children and young people on waiting lists.

“This is a step in the right direction, and a testament to the hard work from our CAMHS community teams across the trust.

“We know there is still work to do and more opportunities to improve the service. We will now focus on embedding the recommendations from the report to ensure that we provide the best care to the young people in our communities.”

Less than a month to get jabbed at Harrogate’s showground

Autumn covid booster vaccination clinics are only available at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground for less than a month.

Tim Yarrow, operations manager at Yorkshire Health Network, which is overseeing the vaccination programme, today urged anyone eligible to book now.

Those showground site, which is currently seeing 1,400 patients a day, is due to close on November 23 and there are currently no plans to re-open it.

It means people will have to seek appointments at local pharmacies when the showground site closes.

People aged 50 and over, pregnant women, carers, frontline health and care workers, care home residents and people of all ages who are vulnerable are eligible for a covid booster jab now.

Those who are able to book their vaccinations can do so via the NHS website.

The showground is not accepting walk-in appointments. Access to the site is available by car from the road alongside Sainsbury’s.

The NHS is ramping up its winter vaccination campaign.

Health bosses in Harrogate previously said that they expect to see more covid patients in hospitals in the coming weeks.

Dr Bruce Willoughby, Harrogate GP and part of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said:

“Health and care services in North Yorkshire and York, like everywhere, are already extremely busy. We do expect to see more cases of covid in the coming weeks as people mix freely again and spend more time indoors as the weather gets colder. The risk of catching covid is highest indoors and in crowded places.

“More people are likely to get flu this winter as fewer people will have built up natural immunity to it during the pandemic. The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before it starts spreading.”

Health officials are also urging people to book a flu vaccine this winter. People can book their jab via their GP surgery.

‘Get jabbed’ plea as ‘wave of covid’ predicted in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire health bosses are urging people to get their flu and covid vaccines ahead of the winter period.

NHS officials say they are preparing for a busy winter of respiratory illnesses, which may overwhelm hospitals.

Dr Bruce Willoughby, Harrogate GP and part of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said he expected to see more cases of covid in hospitals in the coming weeks.

He said:

“Health and care services in North Yorkshire and York, like everywhere, are already extremely busy. We do expect to see more cases of covid in the coming weeks as people mix freely again and spend more time indoors as the weather gets colder. The risk of catching covid is highest indoors and in crowded places.

“More people are likely to get flu this winter as fewer people will have built up natural immunity to it during the pandemic. The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before it starts spreading.

“You can help though. Your actions during the pandemic made an enormous difference and we need people to look out for each other in the same way again.”

Louise Wallace, North Yorkshire’s director of public health, added that there was also a risk of a wave of flu hitting hospitals.

She said:

“We expect to see a wave of covid in North Yorkshire during October/November and possibly another in January.

“There’s also the risk of being hit with a wave of flu cases at the same time so it’s particularly important that people take up the offer of vaccinations as soon as they can.

“Please also remember the basics – hands, face, space and fresh air. They protect against covid, flu and lots of other nasty viruses that can make you feel quite unwell.”

People aged 50 and over, pregnant women, carers, frontline health and care workers, care home residents and people of all ages who are vulnerable are eligible for a covid booster jab now.

Those who are able to book their vaccinations can do so via the NHS website.

Most groups are eligible for a flu vaccine and have been offered a free vaccine. People do not need to wait to be invited for a flu jab and can book at their GP surgery.

North Yorkshire spends twice as much as other areas on HRT, figures show

North Yorkshire spends nearly twice as much as other areas on Hormone Replacement Therapy for women aged between 45 and 60.

According to analysis by the BBC Shared Data Unit, North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group spent a total of £621,387.40 on the drug between April 2021 and June 2022.

The figure amounts to £12.04 per woman aged 45 to 60 in the county — more than double that of the lowest spend in Leicester at £5.56.

However, it is lower than the highest area in West Suffolk NHS, which spent £14.09.

The data comes as experts said the decision-making of local health boards had contributed to a postcode lottery and that some women were not being offered the full range of options because their local health board did not fund them.

HRT replaces hormones that are at a lower level approaching the menopause. Not every patient will need or want HRT, and clinicians advise against it in some circumstances, including for patients with a history of certain types of cancer or blood clots.

Diane Danzebrink, of the Menopause Support charity, said GPs’ “hands were tied”.

She said:

“Often we will hear from women who are being prescribed oral tablets as a first line, and they’re not being offered options.

“Sometimes that is because those options are purely not available on their local CCG formulary. So that sort of ties the hands of their doctors to be able to offer them choices. But we do definitely see that it seems to be in some parts of the country rather than others.”

An NHS England spokesperson said:

“The NHS has a Menopause Pathway Improvement Programme, which includes increased learning for clinicians in how they can best support menopausal women, and working with clinical colleges and menopause organisations to improve awareness and understanding.

“A new Menopause Optimal Pathway will also guide clinicians and help women in the workplace during peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause.”

Harrogate hospital staff selling days off to cope with cost of living crisis

Some staff at Harrogate District Hospital are selling their annual leave and applying for further financial help in a desperate bid to make ends meet.

The hospital is allowing NHS workers to trade time off for extra payments until the end of the year, while a hardship fund has also been set up to help with the soaring costs of energy, fuel and food.

This comes at a time when staff are set to vote on strike action over a below-inflation pay offer which unions have described as another real-terms pay cut.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, told a board meeting today that he had “always been against” staff selling annual leave, but the cost of living crisis now meant that providing support was “absolutely vital”.

He said:

“My justification for this is that the financial position of some staff is putting them under more stress than the benefit of having a holiday.”

A total of 17 staff have so far applied for extra payments instead of time off, while 271 applications have been made to the hospital’s hardship fund, which is offering grants of up to £500.

Wallace Sampson, hospital trust board member and chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, said he had “mixed feelings” about staff being able to sell annual leave as he believes it is “very much needed” to help with their wellbeing.

In response, Mr Coulter said he agreed but this was the preference of some workers and that a five-day limit on the amount of time off that can be traded would ensure staff do get some down time.

He said:

“There is an absolute maximum of five days, so staff can’t sell all of their annual leave.

“We have agreed the policy for this year as a one-off, partly recognising that people have a lot of annual leave because of covid.

“We will need to review the initiatives, but at the moment they are absolutely vital.”

Winter strike possible

His comments come as strike action could span across several months this winter after the Royal College of Midwives union notified hospital bosses that it will ballot its members over pay.

Other unions including GMB and Unison are also said to be making preparations for a vote.

The prospect of staff striking at what is always a busy time for under-strain services in winter has been described as “worrying” by senior officials at Harrogate District Hospital, which has begun making contingency plans.

Around 100 of the hospital’s lowest-paid staff will see an uplift from a rise in the legal minimum wage to £10.90 in October.

However, Dr Suzanne Tyler, executive director at the RCM union, said the government needed to go further and give all workers a better pay rise after its members rejected a 4% increase offer.

Dr Tyler said in a statement:

“Our members have spoken and just like us they believe a below inflation pay award is not good enough, they deserve more.

“The results and turnout speaks volumes about the feelings of a fragile, exhausted, and undervalued workforce, because taking industrial action is always the very last resort for midwives and maternity staff.

“They obviously now see no other alternative to getting a fair and just pay award from their governments.”

Harrogate hospital plans new £14m operating theatres

Harrogate District Hospital is planning a £14 million project to create two new operating theatres in an effort to tackle waiting times for treatment.

The scheme would see two additional operating theatres, two procedure rooms and a 12-bed ward for patients who require extended stays in care built on the site.

The hospital currently has six operating theatres, including general and emergency surgery.

Officials at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the move would help to increase capacity for operations and reduce waiting times for both planned and emergency surgery.

The project forms part of a national funding scheme to help hospitals tackle long waiting lists.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust told the Stray Ferret:

“The number of theatres currently at our trust/Harrogate District Hospital limits the number of operations we can undertake on a weekly basis.

“Additional theatres will enable us to treat more patients each week, which will reduce waits for both planned and emergency operations.”

The trust added that the project will also help to “future proof” the hospital for a growth in population and changes in demographic in the district.

The scheme has been submitted to senior NHS officials and is currently being reviewed.

Trust officials said they expected a response on grant funding within the next four weeks. However, the project would also require planning permission before it goes ahead.

25,500 patients waiting

It comes as Harrogate hospital is currently tackling a long waiting list for patients awaiting treatment.

According to the trust’s own board papers, there were 25,564 patients waiting for an operation at the end of August.

Of that number, 1,297 had been waiting more than 52 weeks.

While the overall number of patients waiting is down by 65 on July, it is an increase of 3,396 on the same time last year.

In a report to the board, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at the trust, said:

“We have had a difficult summer and we are now moving towards winter knowing that the current level of acute pressures and community services workload are already significant.

“Combined with the need to reduce our elective care backlog, the challenges that we are managing are significant.”

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Areas for improvement

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Children’s mental health services ‘requires improvement’

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Winter strike possible

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25,500 patients waiting