HOSPITALS are trying to avert a winter crisis with a "traffic lights" emergency admissions policy.

Red, amber or green will determine where patients are taken and treated.

Health bosses hope the colour code system will combat "bed blocking" - which has plagued Bury this year - and ensure that patients receive care quickly.

The plan has been co-ordinated by Bury and Rochdale Health Authority along with Bury, Rochdale and North Manchester NHS Trusts, GPs, social services departments and the Greater Manchester Ambulance Service. The plan was originally proposed by a local GP and is part of health service moves to meet potential disaster.

"The aim is to remove the difficulty GPs have in finding an appropriate bed for their acutely ill patients," said Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority.

"Up-to-date information about the availability of emergency admission beds will be available for the first time. Informed decisions mean that patients can get the care they need as quickly as possible at a busy time." Each hospital has to declare its status by 4.30pm each day.

Green assumes that the hospital can take referrals from anywhere without undue strain.

Amber status means beds are limited and only patients from within a trust's catchment area will be admitted, along with those referred from a "red alert" hospital.

Red status means there are no beds. Ambulances, local doctors, social services and the health authority will be alerted.

The hospital will not close to emergency medical admissions, patients will still be assessed and treated in accident and emergency units and, if appropriate, transferred to a bed in the nearest available hospital.

Mr Popplewell said a lot of money and effort had been spent on providing alternatives to hospital admission.

"This includes providing in excess of 4,500 hours of care for patients in their own homes and about 4,900 bed days in residential homes for patients who previously would have had to be admitted to an acute bed in hospital," he added.

"We hope that these measures will free up beds that are intended for emergency patients from the local area who need hospital care.

"However, any crisis such as a flu epidemic will always place additional pressure on the system."

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