Tim Loughton MP has welcomed the news that Accident and Emergency departments will be getting a cash injection this winter. Yesterday, the Health Secretary announced measures to support A&E departments- both through additional short term funding for this winter as well as a bold plan for reducing pressures in the longer term.
This winter, £250m will be provided to 53 NHS Trusts deemed most at risk of breaching the A&E standard, including:
· £15m ensuring a reliable NHS 111 service
· £70m on acute capacity and coverage
· £57.5m on pathway improvements for long term conditions requiring urgent care
· £27.5m on local primary care provision
· £65m on strengthened community and hospice care
· £15.5m on integrated health and social care teams
· £8.8m on other measures like minimise delays and reduce unnecessary admissions
£250m will be available next year too. The Government has also set a target for acute trusts to ensure 75% of their staff receives the flu vaccine as a condition, while children aged two and three will be offered a nasal spray vaccine.
In the longer term, the Government has set out a plan to transform primary and community care in order to prevent unnecessary A&E admissions and to improve care for vulnerable older people. The three pillars of this plan are:
· Patients should have a named clinician responsible for the coordination of their care right across the NHS
· Information and patient records must be shared across the system
· Care for older people must be joined up between health and social care, starting with the £3.8billion integration fund