Cash injection to speed hospital discharge

An extra £162 million has been given to health and care services to spend this year on helping people to leave hospital quickly and settle back into their own homes. The money will also be used to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.

Announcing the additional funds last week, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Savings have been made in the Department of Health’s budget which can now be invested in frontline NHS services.”

The funding brings forward plans for health and local authorities to work together, using NHS funding to support social care as announced in the spending review; and will help relieve additional pressures on hospitals over the winter period.

The money will be allocated to PCTs and transferred to councils to spend on social support.

Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow, said: “This money will help cut the delays in getting the equipment and adaptations that people can need to enable them to live independently at home - saving them from an unnecessary stay in hospital or going into residential care.”

The NHS is already planning to spend an additional £800 million from April, on support to social care that benefits health. This was part of the package of measures in the Spending Review, to provide an additional £2 billion for social care in recognition of the importance of care services to hundreds of thousands of families.

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