'Patient flow' critical to keep A&E unit moving

As hospital units across the country struggle to cope with rising patient numbers, the message about only coming to A&E if you really need to is said to be getting through at one north west hospital.

Up to 2,000 staff keep Whiston Hospital in Knowsley, Merseyside, running at any one time and it said it was all about keeping patients moving through the system.

Diane Stafford, deputy director of operations medicine, said managing patient flow is made easier by only people needing the beds presenting themselves at hospital.

She said: "The right people only coming in that need to, come on the whole, and of course the acute chests are what needs admission, which is what we see in this area."

Staff meet four times a day in a special control room to match available beds with the flow of patients while ensuring there were enough staff to cope.

Lyn Swift, patient flow lead nurse, outlined the challenge facing them.

She said: "Our golden time is morning, it's crucial that we get morning flow because that is what prevents us bottle-necking in the afternoon and we aim to get that flow.

"We can then start to hopefully decongest A&E a little bit and make way for the next patients coming in."

This year has seen a surge in respiratory issues and infections.

"We have two wards which are closed at admission due to norovirus," said Milady Doinog, operational site manager.

"It's spiking now and again."

She added: "It's so erratic that we have opened some wards and then we close it again because it's just infection everywhere."

Barbara, from Billinge, St Helens, has been a patient at the hospital and is due to go home.

She said: "In the main, this hospital is so good.

"They've been so caring and so helpful."

January is always a busy time, which is partly due to socialising over the Christmas period, according to hospital staff.

Diane Stafford said the start of January is often the busiest time of the year and this one has been no different.

"Lots of people go out around Christmas, lots of mixing, lots of infection spreading, it happens.

"Lots of people put off coming to hospital in their days running up to Christmas and then they all come immediately following and lots of them are then very sick at that period," she added.

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