Health staff in Havering praised for ‘tireless’ work to cope with increasing demand

Health providers in the borough have praised their staff’s “tireless” hard work as the cold winter has put increasing pressure on the hospital and GP surgeries.

Both the head of the hospital trust and the Havering Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which represents GP surgeries in the borough, have said they are working “incredibly hard” together to cope with the increasing demand for care.

The Recorder requested interviews with both the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) and Havering CCG, but spokesmen replied that no-one was available at this time.

In a statement sent to the Recorder, chief executive of BHRUT Matthew Hopkins said: “The picture locally is much the same as the whole country at the moment – winter is a busy period – and we continue to encourage local people to do their best to find the right and appropriate route to seek medical help so that we can see the most appropriate patients in our emergency department.”

His comment comes after official data from NHS England revealed 65 hospital trusts issued warnings that they are under heavy pressure. This included six which declared the highest state of emergency at some point.

Mr Hopkins said the trust continued to work with local partners, including GPs, to find ways to increase the capacity across the local health system.

The trust’s new approach has seen 20 per cent of patients who presented themselves to emergency departments but were not in need of urgent care redirected to other providers.

A spokeswoman for Havering’s CCG said: “Local GPs, hospitals, social care and community services are all working incredibly hard together, and have stepped up to meet the additional challenge to the NHS that winter inevitably brings. We will continue to do so, together.”