Extra £40 million invested to speed up hospital discharge in the West Country
Health and care partners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are investing the cash, as part of their winter plans
Millions of pounds is being spent by health and care partners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to speed up hospital discharge.
£40 million will be going into schemes that help free up beds, or stop the need for people to come into hospital in the first place.
The measures are hoped to bring a much-needed ease of pressure on the health system this winter.
It has been revealed that planning for this winter began in February, with significant extra funding allocated to winter schemes to maintain safe and effective care for local people.
Where the cash is going
Almost £20 million has been allocated to schemes that will help more people 'return home more promptly but safely' after a stay in hospital.
These schemes include increased capacity in local ‘virtual ward’ and home rehabilitation services, as well as expanded ‘care transfer’ hubs in local hospitals bringing together NHS, social care and voluntary sector staff to support faster discharge.
More than £16.5 million is going into the services that aim to help reduce the number of hospital admissions.
These include expanded urgent community response teams, providing urgent care to people in their own homes in order to avoid hospital admission, whilst extra cash will also go towards 'same day emergency care' - providing rapid assessment and treatment in A&E.
There'll also be an extra £2.9m for extra ambulance capacity, and £0.6m for community acute respiratory infection services.
'Winter is always a challenging time'
These services will be supported by a 24-hours-a-day Co-Ordination Centre, which will see the NHS working with local partners to manage winter pressures.
BNSSG Integrated Care Board chief executive Shane Devlin said: “Winter is always a challenging time for health and care services, with the colder weather and increase in respiratory infections leading to greater pressure on our hospitals.
“But hospitals are only one part of our health and care system and by caring for more people at home and in the community, and making it easier for people to go home following a hospital stay, we can relieve pressure on the hospital ‘pinch points’ and keep services running safely and effectively.
“We’ve invested significant extra funding into discharge services, as well as new urgent and emergency care services in the community and at the hospital ‘front door’, and this will stand us in good stead as we enter the winter months.
“However we depend on people doing their bit as well, by taking up vaccinations when they’re offered and by using services wisely. This year we’ve launched a new campaign to help people access the right care at the right time and we’re encouraging people to visit our website, and talk to healthcare professionals including NHS 111, to make sure they get the best service for their needs.”
The Stay Well This Winter campaign features winter illness advice - which you can find out more about on the NHS website.