Why extreme weather means Sheffield NHS will be busier in summer as well as winter
Heatwaves are causing pressure on services in the same way as snow and ice
The extreme heatwaves that have hit Sheffield recently mean the NHS is now looking at how to cope with a surge in health problems in summer in the same way as it plans for winter.
The NHS has a winter plan in place each year to cope with a surge in demand for health services caused by seasonal flu and respiratory diseases, as well as fall injuries in ice and snow.
The heatwave issue came up in a discussion with representatives of the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) about this year’s winter plan by Sheffield City Council’s health scrutiny sub-committee today (September 10).
Ian Atkinson of the ICB said that the organisation expected to have lost its role coordinating the winter plan for South Yorkshire as part of major reorganisation of the NHS but this did not turn out to be the case.
The organisation is currently in the midst of making 340 job losses as a result of government changes to the role of ICBs and the axing of NHS England. This resulted in the ICB’s budget being halved from £61.7m to £30.2m.
The ICB used to have a major role as a convenor of primary health services but now commissions services. Instead of having teams of staff overseeing services in Sheffield and the other three main local areas, one team will now work across the whole of South Yorkshire.
Plans are now being drawn up by the NHS and other services to have enough extra capacity in place – including more staff and temporary hospital beds – to cope with a winter surge.
Mr Atkinson said that flu figures last year were relatively low and industrial action by resident doctors also meant fewer people called on health services.
Councillor Richard Tinsley asked about the effect of climate change, such as the expected impact of the El Nino climate pattern, which may lead to big storms this autumn.
Mr Atkinson said that there are now plans to cope with different types of severe weather. If a surge is caused by summer heatwaves, for example, enough staff have to be on hand despite it being a key holiday time.