THE leader of North Somerset Council has visited a Weston hospital to learn more about the changes it is making to better care for its patients.

Cllr Mike Bell met with the leadership team of Weston General Hospital following the news that the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) has received nearly £5 million to expand its same day emergency care service.

This will mean that more people will be able to recover in the comfort of their own homes.

Posting on Facebook yesterday (Tuesday, February 13), Cllr Bell said: "I visited Weston General Hospital, part of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, yesterday to meet with staff and the leadership team and find out more about the latest developments and issues at the site.

"Everyone knows somebody who has reason to be thankful to Weston General Hospital and its brilliant staff. It was good to hear about the progress and successes of some of the work at the hospital through the Healthy Weston programme including:

"The same day emergency care service which is helping people to be rapidly assessed, diagnosed, and treated, without being admitted to a ward. This has been so successful that further expansion of this service is planned following an announcement of nearly £5 million in funding from NHS England.

"The impact of improvements to the Geriatric Emergency Medicine service and Older People’s Assessment Unit, which together have helped to minimise hospital stays for older people – getting them the right care and back home as quickly as possible.

"Further investment in hospital discharge arrangements, working with NHS, council social care and community services to make sure that people ready to go home can do so quickly and with the right support in place.

"A new Community Diagnostic Centre is being set up at the For All Healthy Living Centre and is on track to open in April. This will improve access to scanning and diagnostic capacity locally to speed up treatment and reduce waiting times.

"Our NHS services are under almost constant pressure with growing demand for services.

"There is a lot more to do to improve healthcare for local people, including ensuring that GP and dental services are available to support people with early intervention, diagnosis and ongoing care needs."