The North West’s Medical Director, Dr Michael Gregory, has today called on people to look out for frail and elderly relatives, friends and neighbours over Christmas and New Year.

Many older people spend the Christmas period alone – and some will then deteriorate and end up requiring a hospital admission over the festive period. In December 2021 in England a total of 151,048 over 75s were admitted to hospital – a 3% rise on November 2021.

Dr Gregory said that if people can, look in on any elderly relative or neighbour over the festive season and if you are concerned about them, use the www.111.nhs.uk website to help find out if you need to seek further advice.

This might stop them deteriorating further and needing more intervention/admission after the holiday period.

“NHS services have been under pressure for some time, with demand for primary care, hospital services, mental health, 999 and 111 continuing to rise, so we’re really grateful to local people who over the last couple of days have listened to urgent messages from the NHS about accessing services,” he said.

“We also know that NHS staff have been working extremely hard to try and see patients as quickly as possible and to recover services for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic – the effects of which are still being felt.

“Unfortunately, older people compose the largest group admitted to hospital in the winter.  For the NHS, the pinch point in winter is the increase in numbers of emergency hospital stays.

“Those with existing chronic respiratory conditions, such as asthma or COPD are particularly vulnerable, and for those who are frail or elderly, even the common cold, can trigger a hospital stay.

“Our elders are proud people, and every year thousands do not take action and are slow to seek help if they feel unwell.  They end up getting more unwell than they otherwise would.”

Dr Gregory continued: “It’s a sad fact that many are alone over Christmas or they return from a family celebration to a cold empty house.  People can lose a bit of hope and stop looking after themselves.”

“Just like Monday is the busiest week day for emergency hospital stays, the days following Christmas and New Year are some of the busiest of the year.

“My message is simple – look after yourself and others this Christmas, don’t store up health problems for January.

“In particular make sure you get the best from your pharmacy – it’s a rich source of advice.  Make sure you and your loved ones have stocked up with the medicines they need for the full Christmas and New Year period – with two long weekends.”

Anyone wanting to access advice about where to turn should log onto www.111.nhs.uk for quick health advice. Pharmacies can also be a rich source of advice.