NHS Forth Valley: Plans to hire 150 more nurses and increase bed capacity at FVRH to cope with pressures

NHS Forth Valley is increasing capacity and recruiting additional staff as part of wider preparations for winter.

It will also open a National Treatment Centre ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital to provide additional beds for patients requiring joint replacements.

The plans include recruiting more than 150 newly-qualified staff nurses and midwives; additional permanent posts in the emergency department (ED), acute assessment units (AAU) and mental health inpatient wards; and increasing bed capacity.

It is hoped the new permanent staff will reduce the need to rely on bank and agency staff, as well as providing “greater stability and support staff retention”.

NHS Forth Valley also plans to increase the capacity of the Hospital at Home team to enable the team to support up to 30 people in their own homes. In the longer term it hopes to expand the number helped to 50 by 2023.

In a bid to cut down on lengthy waiting times in the ED – FVRH has the worst waiting times in Scotland – it will pilot new triage and assessment arrangements.

By increasing the number of hospital discharges taking place before midday and at weekends it hopes to free up beds and improve capacity.

There are also plans to have designated contingency beds available at FVRH to respond to surges in demand during the winter period.

Health officials have also announced plans to develop a business case to support additional acute capacity on the Larbert hospital site, as well as resdesigning the existing AAU to have a new ED observation unit.

They also said there were plans to “explore options for future developments and improvements on the Bellsdyke site”.

In addition, both local Health and Social Care Partnerships are taking forward a range of plans to increase capacity in community-based health and social care services including securing additional care home beds and investing in additional care at home services.

In Falkirk, there has been investment to increase local care at home services, care home and community hospital beds, rehabilitation support as well as the development of a range of services to support hospital discharges.

Both Integration Joint Boards have also committed to investing in additional social care bed and community capacity through purchasing and reprovisioning of care home beds, increasing social care beds and funding additional care at home services.

Cathie Cowan, NHS Forth Valley’s chief executive, thanked staff and colleagues working in primary care, community and hospital services across Forth Valley for their tremendous efforts to date,.

She said: “These actions build on the board’s significant investment over the last year to develop and improve a wide range of services, including services to support people at home and reduce waiting times for outpatient appointments and operations.

“Collectively, these plans will not only help us prepare for the busy winter period but will also ensure we are better equipped to deal with increasing demand for local health services in the future.”