Families urged to help relatives come home for Christmas
People in Buckinghamshire are being urged to support their loved ones to leave hospital and come home in time for Christmas.
Some patients no longer need hospital medical care but can’t return to their own home to continue their recovery without a bit of additional support being in place first for things like washing, dressing, shopping, cooking and cleaning. Not having this support delays their return home and leads to a shortage of beds for those in urgent need of hospital treatment. As a result, ambulances have to wait outside our A&E department whilst a hospital bed is found – wasting valuable time that paramedics could be spending responding to other 999 calls in the community.
Neil Macdonald, Chief Executive Officer for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said, “Nobody wants to spend longer in hospital than they need to, not least around the festive period and we know that our patients recover faster if they are in their own homes in a more comfortable and familiar setting. If you have a relative or loved one in hospital who is well enough to go home, but is waiting to be discharged with home care and community health support, you may be able to help them to get home more quickly if you and your family are in a position to support them at home. Please speak to the ward manager or nurse in charge if this is something you can help with.”
The Trust is also working closely with social care colleagues across the county in a bid to help as many people as possible to safely return home in time for Christmas.