Section titled module-2
We would continue to provide 24/7 urgent and emergency care for everyone living in the Weston area – in a different way.
- The A&E at Weston Hospital would continue to be open 8am-10pm, seven days a week, when 80 per cent of patients have always used it.
- We would make sure more patients could be admitted directly onto wards overnight, via GP referral.
- GPs would join the A&E team at Weston hospital and work alongside emergency doctors to support patients better.
Many people who attend A&E currently would benefit from access to a GP that understands their existing conditions and has access to patient notes, for example.
This would also mean the most serious emergency cases could be seen more quickly by emergency doctors – helping to improve patient care and reduce A&E waiting times.
Close working with our neighbouring specialist hospitals and the 111 out-of-hours services would continue to be strengthened.
Find out more about the proposalSection titled module-4
Paul, age 54
Current situation
Paul experiences severe chest pains and a suspected heart attack at 10pm on a Saturday night and calls an ambulance.
The paramedics give him an ECG (a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart) that shows he has had a heart attack.
He is transferred by ambulance to be seen by a specialist cardiology team in Bristol. Paul is found to have blocked coronary arteries and needs to have surgery to have emergency coronary stents inserted.
After a few days he returns home and has his follow-up care provided by his GP. He receives advice about improving his diet and is prescribed an exercise course at the local sports centre.
In the future
There would be no change. Patients who have a heart attack would continue to be taken by ambulance to Bristol or Taunton where they would benefit from the high-quality specialist care.