Trust puts steps in place to restart health services

THE Western Trust is putting steps in place to restart services that were halted due to the coronavirus crisis.

 

In response to the initial phases of Covid-19 pandemic, a wide range of services were stood down or scaled back due to the risk of spread of Covd-19,  while new services were introduced to meet the predicted demands of the pandemic.

 

With the first peak of the Covid-19 outbreak in the North having now passed, the Trust is working to restart services while maintaining  sufficient flexibility so that services can respond to future waves of this disease.

 

The Western Trust ‘stage one plan’ identifies the services which have been maintained throughout the initial months of the virus, and others that will begin to restart or scale up.

 

The stage one plan will focus on supporting strong community services for frail or older people and preparing for the impact of the pandemic on mental health services. managing risk

 

The plan also aims towards managing risk, and providing Covid-19 safe services, while also involving staff and service users in the process.

 

Speaking about the launch of Stage one of the Trust’s Reset Plan, Dr Anne Kilgallen, Western Trust chief executive said, “There is no doubt that this has been one of the most difficult periods we have ever had to experience.

 

“Our Stage 1 plan sets out the steps we are taking to rebuild, reset and make necessary changes to our services into the future.

 

“It is accepted that Covid-19 remains a public health risk to our population and a phased and flexible approach is needed to restarting services.”