Thursday 29 January 2015

Press release: New funds to kickstart joint working with NHS and councils this winter

Press release: New funds to kickstart joint working with NHS and councils this winter The government has found new funds to encourage more joint working between councils and the NHS.

In a bid to ease the pressure on the NHS during the current cold snap, the Department for Communities and Local Government and Department of Health have released an extra £37 million for councils to get people home from hospital more quickly and stop them from being admitted in the first place.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has this week provided £12 million to help join up health and social care services so that there aren’t delays for people who can be safely discharged and to avoid people needing to go to hospital in the first place (perhaps because of falls or flu).

The money will mean up to 3,500 more people a week will get home from hospital more quickly this winter, with the local authority putting in place carers and equipment to meet their needs, freeing up much-needed hospital beds within the NHS.

The extra cash is on top of the £700 million the Department of Health has found for the NHS to help manage its winter pressures and a further £25 million that councils have already been given this month to help speed up the discharge system.

It also comes ahead of the introduction in April 2015 of a £5.3 billion Better Care Fund, which will start to transform the way the NHS and councils work together to put people first and enable them live at home with dignity and independence for longer. Department of Health

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