21 December 2022

You may notice activity involving ambulance staff, as industrial action takes place from 6am on Wednesday 21 December until 6am on Thursday 22 December.

It is likely that 999 call handlers will be very busy and NHS 111 call centres will have fewer staff. Longer call response times are expected across the system. As a result, anyone with non-urgent care needs are being asked to first seek medical help from NHS 111 online.

Patients should continue to call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

Impacted organisations within Integrated Care Northamptonshire have plans to deal with disruptions such as industrial action and have been working in partnership with members of UNISON and Unite to ensure emergency and urgent services are prioritised.

If patients have not been contacted and told otherwise, they are advised to attend appointments as planned. This includes GP appointments, which are not impacted by this industrial action.

There will be fewer ambulances on the roads during industrial action, with the NHS prioritising those with life-threatening needs. As a result, patients whose conditions are not life-threatening are unlikely to get an ambulance on strike days.

See the ast Midlands Ambulance Service for more information about industrial action taking place

For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.

Helping patients to return home or into a community setting from hospital

Our priority remains the safety and good care of patients and we are working closely with our partner health and care organisations in Northamptonshire to ensure those who are ready to be discharged from hospital can be.

This is an unprecedented situation for the NHS and we continue to face on-going pressures in our system. The staff in all of our health and care organisations are doing their very best to ensure that we have a hospital bed for anyone who is seriously ill, injured, or their life is at risk so that we can help reduce waiting times and ambulance delays at Accident and Emergency Departments.

Making sure people go home as soon as they are ready is a daily countywide effort with partners to help patients get any additional support needed to leave the hospital and continue their recovery at home.

To help us do this, we would ask all families who have a relative in hospital who no longer need care in an acute hospital, to help us to support their relatives to be discharged to their home or a community setting, so that we can make that bed available for someone who is more in need.

21 December 2022

Riders across the country are being encouraged to get around for £2 as part of a Government funded initiative.

Many bus fares across West Northamptonshire will be reduced for the first three months of 2023 as part of the Government’s scheme to provide more affordable public transport at a time when many are impacted by the cost of the living crisis.

Operators including Stagecoach and Uno are capping single fares at £2 from the start of next year until the end of the March.

This will mean a reduction of more than 60 per cent in the cost of the fare on the longest routes.

The scheme seeks to get more people to travel by buses and help to reduce emissions by taking an estimated 2 million cars off the roads during this period.

“At a time when costs are impacted by inflation, the bus industry has faced a challenging time.

“We welcome this initiative in West Northamptonshire, and hope that it will encourage more people across the area to make the most of bus services during the first three months of 2023 at this fantastically reduced rate.

“Not only will the discounted fares enable people to save money it will help to reduce emissions across the area supporting our objective of West Northants becoming net zero.”

Cllr Phil Larratt, WNC’s Cabinet Member for environment, transport, highways and waste.

The bus operators who have confirmed they are participating in the scheme across West Northamptonshire so far are:

• Arriva the Shires
• Cogenhoe & Whiston Parish Council
• Stagecoach East
• Stagecoach Midlands
• Stagecoach West
• Uno Bus

22 December 2022

Did you know you can still get NHS support when your GP practice is closed, even during evenings, weekends and on Bank Holidays including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day?

There are a range of services available to support patients with non-life threatening illnesses and injuries, and NHS 111 online can direct patients to the most appropriate service to meet their needs.

Options include:

NHS 111

NHS 111 is available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day for urgent health concerns, giving you advice and reassurance without needing to leave your home. If needed a healthcare professional will call you back. Visit 111.NHS.UK

If you are contacting NHS 111 about a patient aged 5 or under please call 111.

Enhanced access (GP out of hours)

Bookable appointments with a healthcare practitioner such as a doctor, nurse or physio are available during weekday evenings and weekends but you may have to travel - book through your practice or 111.NHS.UK
             

Local pharmacy
Your local pharmacy can help with minor illnesses like coughs, colds and red eye. They are open late and on weekends and Bank Holidays with no appointment needed.

Local pharmacies will be open throughout the Christmas and New Year period. Please visit the NHS England website for opening times

Corby Urgent Care Centre

Corby Urgent Care Centre is open every day between 8am and 8pm and can help with minor injuries/ illnesses such as lacerations, sprains, strains, minor burns or scalds.

Further details about Corby Urgent Care Centre can be found on the One Medical Group website

Urgent mental health support
If you are feeling unwell or are worried about someone, there is range of support options available. Please visit the Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust websitefor information about what support is available.

Remember you can get the answers to hundreds of health questions, including seasonal advice via www.nhs.uk

Remember if it is a life-threatening emergency or if you are concerned about an immediate risk of harm, either to yourself or someone else please phone 999.

21 December 2022

People are encouraged to have their say on how West Northamptonshire Council has balanced its budget amid continuing financial pressures.

Initially the Council faced a predicted budget shortfall of almost £60 million for the coming financial year due to a range of factors including high inflation, which is driving up running costs, and a significant increase in demand for services.

Members of the Cabinet met last night (Tuesday 20 Dec) to discuss a range of saving and efficiency proposals which will allow the Council to meet that shortfall, while protecting vital frontline services.

Those proposals are now subject to a six-week consultation, giving people an opportunity to share their views ahead of the final budget going to Full Council in February.

People have until the end of January to have their say, by completing the survey on our Consultation Hub

The survey can be accessed online for free at libraries across West Northants, or you can request a copy in another format by emailing [email protected] or phoning 0300 126 7000.

The draft budget features a broad range of proposals to bridge the funding gap, including:

• Increasing fees and charges for services such as garden waste collections and car parking, aligning them with the national average to fairly reflect today’s operating costs, and allowing the Council to meet the demand in critical services protecting vulnerable adults and children.
• Reviewing services to make them more efficient while saving hundreds of thousands of pounds. The proposals include reviewing the policy, processes and systems for the Home to School Transport service to reduce running costs, and the introduction of three-weekly waste collections in South Northants and some parts of Northampton, to bring the service in line with the Daventry area.
• Raising Council Tax by 4.99%, in line with the Government’s allowance, generating additional funding of around £11.5 million - with 2% of the increase going towards adult social care.
• Restructuring service areas within the organisation and introducing new, more efficient ways of working to make back office savings without impacting on how services are delivered to residents.
• Investing significant extra funding to meet the increasing demand for adult and children’s services, providing more cost effective and better preventative care for vulnerable residents.

During the next financial year the Council plans to carry out a capital investment programme of more than £12.2 million to improve local roads, including a £4.7 million fund towards repairing potholes.

Public health funding will be earmarked for a range of schemes aimed at improving residents’ wellbeing, reducing health inequalities and continuing to support communities through this period of high inflation.

The Council will also continue to deliver upon plans to drive economic growth in West Northants, with further progress expected on the multi-million-pound regeneration of Northampton through the Government’s Towns Fund, starting with the Market Square transformation in the New Year.

“In common with councils up and down the country, we are experiencing financial pressures.

“The challenge of bridging the £60 million funding gap left us with some very tough decisions, so we have produced a set of proposals that address the pressures we are under, while allowing us to continue to protect the most vulnerable in our society, and deliver services to residents across our communities.

“Your feedback is very important to us, so please take the time to tell us what you think, as this will help councillors make a final decision on the budget in February.”

Councillor Malcolm Longley, Cabinet Member for Finance on West Northamptonshire Council.

19 December 2022

In Northamptonshire, we are bringing together local NHS, West Northamptonshire Council, North Northamptonshire Council and voluntary sector organisations to support carers of people with a learning disability and/or autism in a more joined-up way. To do this, we are asking for feedback from carers to understand the service provision needed to better meet the needs of those with a learning disability and/or Autism, to help shape future plans for services going forwards.

By ‘carers’ we mean family members or friends providing unpaid care as opposed to paid care workers, although they may receive benefits such as Carers Allowance.

The survey asks unpaid carers in Northamptonshire with lived experience of caring for a loved-one with a learning disability and/or autism to share their views on what support they feel they need or what would help carers planning in the future.

It is really important that we hear your views to ensure we better understand needs and highlight opportunities for more integrated ways of working between services and organisations.

The survey will take just over 10 minutes to complete and will close on 31 January 2023. All responses are anonymous.

Alternate formats are available upon request.

Please contact [email protected] with any queries or alternatively, if you would like to find out what support is available to you as a carer please contact Northamptonshire carers: [email protected]. 

Please see the Northamptonshire Carers websitefor a self-referral for a ‘Carers Assessment’.