'Think, which service?' is the message over health at Easter

We are encouraging our communities to ‘Think which service?’ they need for their health needs as Easter approaches and is followed by the junior doctors’ strike.

Our emergency departments (ED) are extremely busy but more so during bank holidays as we have more visitors come along to our lovely county to see tourist attractions or dropping in on family and friends.

This is why it is crucial to know which local health service to use and when. It will ensure that you will get the right help at the right time should you need any health care.

When people need medical assistance, particularly in an urgent situation, it can be difficult to think clearly about what to do. Understandably, in this situation people will often head for the emergency department, which may not be the best place for them to get the treatment they need.

EDs are for genuinely life-threatening emergencies – for example chest pains or severe bleeding or burns. If you have a life-threatening illness or injury please continue to dial 999.

But, if you have an urgent care need which isn’t immediately life threatening, there are a number of services available and all the information on the ‘Think which service?’ is on the website thinkwhichservice.co.uk

The website has been set up to provide information about when to use which urgent care service and the range of other services available – from community pharmacies and NHS 111 online to our minor injury units.

I would like to thank all my SaTH colleagues, Shropshire Community Health Trust, Primary Care and our wider health and social care system for their support of the new virtual ward service. The service started in October 2022 with five patients on the caseload and we are now seeing more than 100 patients being cared for at any one time through virtual wards, which is a fantastic achievement.

The scheme ensures that patients are benefitting from the right care, by the right clinical teams and wherever possible in their own homes. We are really grateful for the way everybody has embraced these new ways of working.

The virtual wards are a national initiative whereby patients who would have otherwise been in hospital are able to receive the care they need in the place they call home, enabled by digital technology.

I would also like to wish my colleague Pete Checketts, an Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Doctor working at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, the best of luck for his solo hike across the Shropshire hills.

He started his epic challenge of 85 miles yesterday and he will be ticking off the 20 highest hills in the county as he goes. The hike lasts for about six days.

Pete is raising money for a charity called Doctors in Distress. They run confidential mental health support groups for doctors and other medical professionals, with the ultimate aim of preventing suicide.

So far Pete has managed to raise a fantastic £1,502. If you would like to support this worthy cause and donate to Pete’s JustGiving page then you can do so by visiting justgiving.com/fundraising/shropshire20challenge

Hope you all have a happy Easter.