Hywel Dda urges patients to be Winter Wise this season / Mae Hywel Dda yn annog cleifion i gymryd gofal y gaeaf hwn

Hywel Dda urges patients to be Winter Wise this season /

With winter fast approaching, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are once again urging residents to think local and use community healthcare services if they are ill or need non-urgent treatment.

Citizens are being urged to be Winter Wise by booking their flu jab early, visiting their local pharmacist for minor ailments, and making sure friends, family and neighbours are being well looked-after.

With demand on hospitals rising it is crucial that only those most in need of specialist or emergency care attend their local A&E. Residents can play their part and help to ease the pressure on our hardworking clinical staff by Choosing Well and making sure they use the right healthcare options for their needs.

The Health Board has worked with the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, local authorities and the third sector to prepare for the busy period ahead with a winter plan. This is available on the health board’s website and sets out how the organisation is preparing to run services as smoothly as possible to ensure patients’ needs continue to be met 24 hours a day.

This year the health board is signposting people towards community pharmacies, which can see and treat people with minor ailments and avoid them having to go to their GP or A&E department.

The Common Ailments Service covers 26 conditions whereby a pharmacist can assess and provide medication at no charge, if suitable, without the need for a prescription. The service allows patients to seek advice or treatment from a participating community pharmacy, rather than their GP, for a defined list of ailments.

Patients in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire are also being urged to use the health board’s Triage and Treat service in participating community pharmacies if they have a low-level injury or illness, in a bid to free up pressure on busy A&E departments this winter.

With the Christmas period fast approaching, health professionals across Wales are urging all those eligible to have their flu vaccine as soon as possible, to help them and our hospitals stay flu-free throughout the winter.

And infection prevention specialists are reminding people not to visit patients in hospitals and care homes if they have been feeling unwell, in order to limit the spread of conditions such as Norovirus and flu.

Joe Teape, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “The pressures typically faced by our busy teams during the winter months are already well-documented, but what is not often seen is the knock-on effect that this has on patients with most urgent needs.

“At this time of the year our frontline services rely on patients making the right decisions about the level of care they need; if you attend a busy A&E department with an illness that could be treated by a community pharmacist, for example, then this can create disruption and further pressure down the line and lead to delays in treatment for people with urgent care needs.

“The winter period is always a long and challenging one for the NHS, so I would like to encourage people to do their utmost to Choose Well and help us ensure that only those most in need of emergency or specialist care can receive it.”

Clinical Director for Unscheduled Care, Consultant Jeremy Williams, added: “Many people who come to our emergency departments are very sick and are attending appropriately. However, it’s also true that some people have less severe conditions which would be better assessed and treated by other health care providers.

“Often, if they used one of our community healthcare services, for example, they would be cared for appropriately and likely much more quickly than in our emergency units. As well as helping people to be seen in the quickest time possible, this would ultimately help us to save lives.”

For more information on the health board’s winter plans and advice on how you can help visit www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk/winterwise

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Mae Hywel Dda yn annog cleifion i gymryd gofal y gaeaf hwn

Â’r gaeaf yn prysur agosáu, mae meddygon, nyrsys a gweithwyr gofal iechyd proffesiynol eraill unwaith eto’n annog trigolion i feddwl yn lleol a defnyddio gwasanaethau gofal iechyd cymunedol os ydynt yn sâl neu os oes arnynt angen triniaeth nad yw’n frys.

Rydym yn annog pawb i fod yn ddoeth trwy drefnu eu brechiad ffliw yn gynnar, mynd i’r fferyllfa leol â mân anhwylderau, a chadw llygad ofalus ar deulu, ffrindiau a chymdogion.

Â’r gal war ysbytai yn cynyddu, mae’n holl bwysig mai dim ond y rhai hynny sydd â’r angen mwyaf am ofal arbenigol neu argyfyngol sy’n mynychu Adrannau Brys. Gall trigolion chwarae eu rhan a helpu i leddfu’r pwysau ar ein staff clinigol trwy wneud Dewis Doeth a sicrhau eu bod yn defnyddio’r gwasanaeth gofal iechyd mwyaf priodol i ddiwallu eu anghenion.

Mae’r Bwrdd Iechyd wedi cydweithio gydag Ymddiriedolaeth GIG Gwasanaethau Ambiwlans Cymru, awdurdodau lleol a’r trydydd sector ar gynllun gaeaf er mwyn paratoi ar gyfer y cyfnod prysur sydd i ddod. Mae’r cynllun hwn ar gael ar wefan y bwrdd iechyd ac mae’n nodi sut mae’r sefydliad yn paratoi i redeg ei wasanaethau yn y modd mwyaf llyfn posibl er mwyn sicrhau bod anghenion cleifion yn cael eu diwallu 24 awr y dydd.

Eleni, mae’r bwrdd iechyd yn cyfeirio pobl tuag at fferyllfeydd cymunedol, a all weld a thrin pobl â mân anhwylderau ac osgoi iddynt orfod mynd at y Meddyg Teulu neu i’r Uned Frys.

Mae’r Gwasanaeth Anhwylderau Cyffredin yn cwmpasu 26 cyflwr y gall fferyllydd, os yn briodol, eu hasesu a rhoi meddyginiaeth ar eu cyfer yn ddi-dâl a hynny heb bresgripsiwn. Mae’r gwasanaeth yn galluogi cleifion i geisio cyngor neu driniaeth gan fferyllfa gymunedol sy’n rhan o’r cynllun, yn hytrach na’u Meddyg Teulu, ar gyfer rhestr ddiffiniedig o anhwylderau.

Mae cleifion yn Sir Gaerfyrddin, Ceredigion a Sir Benfro yn cael eu hannog i ddefnyddio gwasanaeth Brysbennu a Thrin y bwrdd iechyd mewn fferyllfeydd cymunedol sy’n rhan o’r cynllun os oes ganddynt fân anaf neu salwch. Nod hyn oll yw i leihau’r pwysau ar adrannau brys y gaeaf hwn.

Gyda chyfnod y Nadolig ar y gorwel, mae gweithwyr iechyd ar draws Cymru yn annog pawb sy’n gymwys i gael y brechlyn ffliw cyn gynted â phosibl, i’w helpu nhw yn ogystal â’n hysbytai i fod yn ddi-ffliw ar hyd y gaeaf.

Mae arbenigwyr atal heintiau yn atgoffa pobl i beidio ag ymweld â chleifion mewn ysbytai na chartrefi gofal os ydynt wedi body n teimlo’n anhwylus, er mwyn cyfyngu ar ledaeniad cyflyrau megis Norofirws a ffliw.

Dywedodd Joe Teape, Dirprwy Brif Weithredwr a Chyfarwyddwr Gweithrediadau Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Hywel Dda: “Mae pawb yn ymwybodol o’r pwysau sydd ar ein timoedd prysur dros fisoedd y gaeaf, ond dyw pobl ddim mor ymwybodol o effaith hyn ar y cleifion hynny sydd â’r anghenion mwyaf brys.

“Ar yr adeg hon o’r flwyddyn mae ein gwasanaethau rheng flaen yn dibynnu ar gleifion yn gwneud y penderfyniadau cywir am y lefel o ofal sydd ei angen arnynt; er enghraifft, os ydych chi’n mynychu adran frys brysur gyda salwch a ellir ei drin gan fferyllydd cymunedol, gall hyn amharu a chreu pwysau ychwanegol nes ymlaen a gall arwain at oedi yn nhriniaeth y rhai hynny sydd ag anghenion gofal brys.

“Mae’r gaeaf yn gyfnod hir a heriol i’r GIG bob blwyddyn, felly rwyf am annog pobl i wneud eu gorau glas i wneud Dewis Doeth ac i’n helpu ni i sicrhau mai ond y rhai hynny sydd â’r angen mwyaf am ofal argyfyngol neu arbenigol sy’n ei gael.”

Ychwanegodd yr Ymgynghorydd Jeremy Williams, Cyfarwyddwr Clinigol Gofal heb ei Drefnu: “Mae nifer o’r bobl sy’n dod i’n hadrannau brys yn sâl iawn ac yn mynychu’n briodol. Fodd bynnag, mae hi hefyd yn wir bod rhai pobl â chyflyrau llai difrifol yn mynychu – cyflyrau a fyddai’n well eu hasesu a’u trin gan ddarparwyr gofal iechyd eraill.

“Yn aml, petai nhw’n defnyddio un o’n gwasanaethau gofal iechyd cymunedol, er enghraifft, mae’n debygol y byddent yn cael gofal priodol a hynny’n llawer cynt, nag y nein hunedau brys. Yn ogystal â helpu pobl i gael eu gweld cyn gynted â phosibl, byddai hyn yn y pen draw y nein helpu i achub bywydau.”

Am fwy o wybodaeth ar gynlluniau gaeaf y bwrdd iechyd a chyngor ar sut y gallwch helpu, ewch i: www.bihyweldda.wales.nhs.uk/gofalygaeaf