NHS Orkney Winter Messaging

Since early summer, like all other health boards, NHS Orkney has been putting in place relevant plans for the winter season. As you may expect each winter, we see an increase in patients presenting to all our sites across NHS Orkney.

As a community we can all work together to keep one another as well as possible:

• Basic hand hygiene and cough etiquette are vital to ensure we are staying well. Remembering to cough or sneeze into a tissue, dispose of the tissue and then washing your hands will help us all from spreading germs.
• If you do have respiratory or vomiting/diarrhoea symptoms, please do not visit elderly, vulnerable or loved ones whether in hospital and healthcare settings or not.
• If you need medical help, please think who might be best placed to help, the right care, right place campaign should help. There is a wealth of advice and guidance on NHS Inform.

Please continue to take up the offer of this winter’s vaccinations. Those eligible for winter vaccines, whether flu or covid have been contacted and given an appointment. If you are unsure if you are eligible, you can use the NHS Inform eligibility checker here, NHS Inform - Winter Vaccines.

If you require repeat prescriptions, remember to order these in plenty of time as many of our community pharmacies will be closed for periods over the festive break but please only order what you need.

Additionally, we need the community’s support to help us get your loved ones home in good time after a stay in hospital. Hospital discharges should take place by lunchtime to allow us capacity to admit others and not lead to delays in emergency care. We understand family members may have other commitments, but we hope by working together with the community we can aim to discharge at lunchtime, especially in these winter months.

Sam Thomas, Director of Nursing, Midwifery, AHP’s and Chief Officer Acute said: “We are seeing increased pressure on all of our services as we would expect in the winter months, by keeping ourselves well, seeking support from the right services and only attending the Emergency Department when necessary, we can all play our part in protecting services over the winter.”

Dr Louise Wilson, Director of Public Health said: “There is still time to get your flu and Covid vaccinations so please do take up the offer if you are eligible. Levels of flu in the community in Scotland are on the rise and we all want to keep as healthy as possible, especially for the festive period, so now’s the time to act.”

Once again, we appreciate the community’s support as we navigate another busy, winter period.