The Government has announced the allocation of a £40 million fund for local authorities to strengthen urgent and emergency care resilience and performance this winter, with £1.31m awarded to Cornwall. Additionally, £1.6m and over £600k are being made available to local authorities in Devon and Plymouth, where many North Cornwall patients are treated.
Scott Mann MP said:
"Local authorities within integrated care systems (ICSs) identified by NHS England as experiencing the greatest challenges with urgent and emergency care were invited to put forward proposals for access to the fund and the Government have today set out details of how much each local authority will receive.
"The funding will speed up hospital discharge, boost social care provision and prevent avoidable hospital admissions in Cornwall."
Minister of State for Care, Helen Whately, said:
"We know winter will be challenging, which is why we started preparing earlier than ever before so people get the care they need. We’re supporting local councils with targeted funding to use where it’s needed most.
With a focus on speeding up hospital discharge and increasing social care provision, this money will help the NHS care for people through the winter."
This £40 million funding is in addition to £200 million announced in September 2023 to boost resilience in the NHS and help patients get the care they need as quickly as possible this winter. It can be used to buy more services aimed at keeping people out of hospital, as well as more packages of home care, which allow people to leave hospital faster and build back their independence.
Home care packages can include enabling a carer to come to an individual’s home a couple of times a day to help them with everyday tasks, such as getting dressed. The money can also fund an increase to the amount of specialist dementia support available in the community, services which also help to keep people out of hospital.
Other local authority proposals included services such as patient transport provision to take people home from hospital, the provision of technology to monitor people at home, and additional capacity to undertake more assessments of an individual’s care needs.
Compared to this time last October, there has been a 9 percent fall in the number of patients staying in hospital after they are ready to be discharged, freeing up space on wards and helping flow through the system.
The regional allocations will be paid on 4 December and a breakdown of the funding allocations can be found here.
