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The L&D supports Alcohol Awareness Week

Date: 08/11/2019 | Category: General News

8th November 2019

Our Patient Safety Team are joining ResoLUTiONs to support Alcohol Awareness Week with an information stand in main reception on Monday 11^th and Tuesday 12^th November.

People use alcohol for different reasons – to be sociable, to relieve stress, cope with anxiety, and many other reasons. However, your alcohol consumption may be affecting you in ways you may not realise. If you end up drinking more because your tolerance has increased, this will have a negative impact on your short and long-term health.

Alcohol misuse can cause:

Dependency
Weight gain
Insomnia or poor sleep
Negative effects on your appearance
Concentration problems
Long-term damage to your health and relationships

Our Patient Safety Team have been working with ResoLUTiONs, and local well-being services, to achieve the 2019/2020 CQUIN – to provide Tobacco and Alcohol screening to hospital in-patients aged 18 and over. Patients who smoke, and those at risk of alcohol dependency, should be given brief verbal advice.

CQUIN stands for ‘Commissioning for Quality and Innovation’, which is a system to drive improvements in specific areas of care.

Alcohol Awareness Week is running from 11th to 17th November, and is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking.

Unexpected closure of lifts in Beeden House and reduced lift capacity in the Main Block, Bedford Hospital

Beeden House

We have had to make the difficult decision to close both lifts in Beeden House after finding an unexpected fault during routine maintenance.

This means that there will be disruption to services and appointments on the upper floors of Beeden House.

We are currently contacting patients to find the best individual solution for them, minimise disruption and ensure they continue to receive the care they need. At this point you do not need to contact us, we will contact all affected patients.

The decision to close the lifts was hard, but we felt it was the safest decision to best protect our patients and staff.

Reduced lift capacity in the Main Block

Please be aware our lifts in the Main Block currently have reduced capacity. In order to maintain lift functions and minimise traffic in the remaining lifts, we will be prioritising high priority movements.

Staff, patients and visitors can access the main block lifts if required, but may be asked to wait at main reception while other priority movements are made. A minimum of 4 people will be required before the lift departs. Security staff operating the lifts will be mindful that not all disabilities are visible and make appropriate accommodations for non-ambulant staff and visitors.

We apologise for the inconvenience the closure of lifts and reduced lift capacity will cause.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and support.