Busy, busy, busy

This week has seen me on nights over the weekend. Busy doesn't really sum it up!
As with all emergency services weekends bring a new set of challenges. Across the country it seems the NHS is creaking under the weight of demand put on it.
All three of my nights have been spent managing trolley waits in my local two acute hospital trusts.
Before even thinking about anything else I would like to give credit to the ambulance crews and hospital staff who have worked so hard to minimise these waits and  to continue to deliver high levels of care under difficult conditions.
So how do we solve this problem? If you can come up with an answer that does not cost money your on to a winner. Seriously though there is no magic cure , no magic wand that is going to sort these delays out. There are many systems  in place to help reduce the number of calls to ambulance services and reduce the number of patients that are conveyed to hospital emergency departments.
Do people expect to much from their ambulance services and hospitals, could their problem be dealt with by someone different. The answer is probably yes on both counts however do the public know how to access these other services , do they know that their GP surgery may be open over the weekend? Do they know that their pharmacist can help with lots of every day problems.
So how do we get those messages out there, press releases, adverts on TV and radio, social media.
As clinicians we also need to ensure we make use of the alternative pathways available to us to avoid admissions where possible.

Did someone mention social media? There are many health care professionals and organisations actively using social media to help deliver important messages to the wider community and far more use of this will be seen in the future.
This week also sees the budget and I like most of my colleagues wait to see what this will bring and the impacts it may have on us and our services.