NHS bosses to get £10m to help cope with 'particular pressures' of winter

The NHS in Scotland is to receive £10 million to help cope with the particular pressures'' of winter, the Health Secretary has announced.

Jeane Freeman said the money, which is being awarded to regional health boards across the country as well as NHS 24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service, would help ensure they were well prepared''.

The cash matches the £10 million the Scottish Government awarded to the NHS last winter and comes on top of £6.3 million spending on unscheduled care.

The money will aim to ensure appropriate levels of staff are on duty across the NHS, so patients are cared for at the right place at the right time.

In addition, it will go towards ensuring those who are well enough to leave hospital can be discharged at weekends and over holiday periods.

Scotland's largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, will receive the biggest award, amounting to almost #2.14 million, with NHS chiefs in Lothian in line to receive more than £1.4 million.

The two NHS boards covering Orkney and Shetland will receive £46,000 and £47,000 respectively while the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24 will both get £200,000.

Ms Freeman said: Winter creates particular pressures on our health and social care system, so it's important that we are well prepared.

Our £10 million investment will support boards as well as health and social care to put appropriate steps in place - particularly to make sure people are discharged in a timely way when it's safe to do so, and that the right staff are in place throughout the system.

However, this requires more than just investment - we need strong leadership and collaborative working across the whole system to ensure people are getting the right help in the right place. We are already seeing examples of integration making a difference and we are focused on increasing the pace of this across Scotland.''