MP Jack Brereton welcomes immediate Government investment in extra community beds so that patients receive the right support sooner
Local NHS services in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have received £3,936,000 in funding to help discharge patients more quickly when they are ready to leave hospital. The funding is a share of a £200m national investment that will be used to buy beds, step-down facilities, and care support for hospital patients being discharged.
The funds, which have been received by the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board, will free up hospital beds at a time when the Royal Stoke and other local hospitals are under intense winter pressure. This will improve safety for patients in hospital beds and those waiting to access them.
Commenting on the announcement, Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton said:
"This £3.9m is hugely welcome and will support the NHS in Stoke-on-Trent in delivering the right care to patients at the right time. Discharging inpatients from hospital beds when they are ready to leave is essential in relieving the pressure on acute NHS services at the Royal Stoke, most critically in A&E.
"This, in turn, will significantly help reduce the delays we have seen in ambulance handovers at A&E. The Government has listened to our concerns about pressures at the Royal Stoke and I welcome this new financial support that will help our local NHS and improve patient safety."
Speaking in the House of Commons, Health Secretary Steve Barclay MP said:
"There’s no question it has been an extraordinarily difficult time for everyone in health and care. It is clear we need to do more right now in light of the level of Covid and flu rates and given hospital occupancy remains far too high and emergency departments too congested.
“Today’s announcement provides a further £250 million of funding which recognises that the spike in flu on top of Covid admissions, on top of high delayed discharge numbers from the pandemic, will provide immediate support to reduce hospital bed occupancy and decompress A&E pressure and in turn, unlocking much-needed ambulance handovers."
