Trust braces for Winter as Emergency Department attendances are at an all-time high

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has already seen over 125,000 attendances to its Emergency Department doors this year, which makes it the highest amount of attendances going into the winter period.

Winter is always an incredibly busy time for NHS services with the increase of seasonal illnesses such as cold and flu, which puts an increased pressure on our GP surgeries, hospitals and community health services. And as the Trust prepares itself for the winter period, it’s launching its Winter campaign called ‘Winter Ready’ which is asking for the public to do their bit to help their local NHS services during this time.

Residents across Reading and West Berkshire are being asked to do the following things to be Winter Ready:

• Use NHS 111 for advice on appropriate service for their needs
• Getting vaccinated for eligible vaccines, such as: flu, Covid-19 and RSV
• Registering to a GP surgery and continuing to contact their GP for health advice
• Stocking-up on over the counter medication
• Looking after vulnerable family members, friends and neighbours
• Collecting prescriptions in time for weekends and upcoming bank holidays

Dom Hardy, Chief Operating Officer at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘It is common-knowledge that the NHS is under pressure and even more so during the upcoming winter period. We have been gearing up, introducing new initiatives and processes to help ease the pressure off our staff to ensure we provide the care to those who need it this winter. But there are many things that you can do to support us to support you, whether that is checking-in on your elderly neighbours more frequently, collecting your prescriptions on time and planning ahead, stocking-up on your medication cupboard. But it is vital that you use the correct NHS services for your condition as this will help us to keep our Emergency Department for medical emergencies only, so we can help those most in need’.

You can visit the ‘Winter Ready’ campaign page on the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust’s website for more information: https://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/winter-ready.