Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
is there any evidence there is an abnormally high amount of operations booked for January?
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Our local NHS Trust said they would "taper off" scheduled procedures (that would require time on a ward) prior to the winter influx of (flu) patients, only "returning to normal operations" once beds started to be cleared. Day surgeries were not affected, neither were out-patient appointments.
That was for the winter of 2016/2017, and it was successful.
No sign of this policy this winter though.
A big stumbling block that is causing bed-blocking is the lack of council services available to support recovering patients in their own homes. And that is just down to budget management and "austerity".