Last week, the Government announced a new £200 million national discharge fund for integrated care boards (ICBs) to fund an increase in the number of beds in care homes and short-term care placements to ease winter pressures on hospital beds. 

The fund will increase the number of beds in post-discharge care to allow hospital patients to be discharged into settings where they will receive care to help their recovery before they return home. 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire will receive £2,652,000 to buy extra beds that will free up hospital spaces for those who need emergency care. 

Sir Bill Wiggin, MP for North Herefordshire, commented: 

“I am pleased that Herefordshire and Worcestershire are receiving £2,652,000 to buy extra beds in the community for those people who have been discharged from hospital.  This extra funding will help to ease the current strain on A&E departments and our wonderful NHS.” 

The Government is providing an additional £50 million funding to create facilities for patients who require care after a visit to A&E but do not need a hospital bed, and for new ambulance hubs to enable vehicles to get back on the road quickly. 

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said:  

“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.” 

To find out more about this extra funding, click here.