UK Taxpayers are investing £200 million of new funding to boost NHS resilience and ensure patients receive the care they need this winter
The British government is investing £200 million of taxpayer money to boost resilience in the NHS and help patients get the care they need as quickly as possible this winter.
The new funding announced today comes after the Prime Minister and Health and Social Care Secretary met clinical leaders and NHS chiefs yesterday to drive forward planning to ease pressures in urgent and emergency care while protecting waiting list targets this winter.
Winter is the busiest time for the NHS, with increased pressures from flu, Covid and seasonal illness – combined this year with ongoing pressure from industrial action. That’s why the government has started planning earlier than ever before to ensure patients get the care they need.
The Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan announced earlier this year was backed by £1 billion taxpayer funding to boost capacity in the health system by providing 5,000 additional beds, 800 new ambulances and 10,000 virtual wards.
As a result, significant progress has been made – compared to July 2022, Category 2 ambulance response times are now 27 minutes faster, there are 2,500 more general and acute beds and 9,700 virtual ward beds available, and there are 1,500 fewer people stuck in hospital when they are medically fit to be discharged.
That comes on top of the Primary Care Recovery Plan which is freeing up 15 million GP appointments to help end the 8 am rush.
The government remains committed to cutting waiting lists – there has been good progress made on the Elective Recovery Plan with 2-year and 18-month waits eliminated so far.
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said:
Chief Executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, said:
Alongside this, £40 million of taxpayer money is being invested to improve social care capacity, strengthen admissions avoidance services and boost discharge rates – targeting the areas with the greatest urgent and emergency care challenges. The funding forms part of the £600 million social care winter workforce package – with local authorities in the most challenged integrated care systems now invited to submit proposals.
Local authorities can bid for the £40 million to help boost adult social care provision over the winter months. They will be able to use the funding to buy more services aimed at keeping people out of hospital as well as more packages of home care which allow people to leave the hospital more quickly and build back their independence, such as enabling a carer to come to their home a couple of times a day and helping them with tasks including getting dressed.
The funding could also be used to increase the amount of specialist dementia support available in the community, services which also help to keep people out of hospital.
Earlier this month, the government allocated £50 million to local authorities to help older people and those with disabilities live safely and independently in their own homes.
Overall, adaptation grants support 50,000 people a year and help people to be discharged from hospital quicker, cutting waiting times – one of the government’s top five priorities.
Health Minister, Helen Whately, said:
Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England, said:
Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of NHS Confederation, said:
This builds on record funding for the NHS and social care, including additional funding already pledged for this winter. In July, the government announced £600 million over the next two years to boost the capacity of the social care workforce and funding for the social care sector this winter and into next year. In August, it announced the allocations of £250 million of capital funding to increase capacity in 30 hospitals across the country. The Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan was backed by £1 billion to provide additional capacity, on top of £1.6 billion of discharge funding over 2023/24 and 2024/25. This was part of the up to £14.1 billion extra funding announced at the Autumn Statement for this year and next, on top of record existing funding.
The government is creating extra capacity, with 119 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and 94 surgical hubs open – helping to deliver thousands more checks, scans, tests and operations. As well as being more convenient for patients, CDCs drive efficiency across the NHS by shielding elective diagnostic services from wider hospital pressures.
Last year, the government established the Elective Recovery Taskforce, made up of academics and experts from the NHS and independent sector, to look for ways to go further to bust the Covid backlogs and reduce waiting times for patients. It has since published an implementation plan, including reviewing the use of the independent sector in training junior NHS staff.
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