Giles Watling MP, for Clacton, has welcomed the £240m of additional funding for councils to spend on adult social care services, which will help reduce pressures in the NHS this winter.
Essex has received nearly £6m in funding, one of the highest allocations nationally, and this funding will help councils alleviate winter pressures and get patients home quicker. This will free up hospital beds across England and ensure that those patients who are medically ready to leave hospital and access adult social care services – the long wait for such services was a bottleneck in the NHS during the winter pressures of 2017/18.
The funding will also help to reduce delayed transfers, reduce extended lengths of stay, improve weekend discharge arrangements, and speed up the process of assessing what social care is needed for patients in hospitals. All of this will enable the NHS to deliver higher quality services for patients this winter, which is a critical priority for the Government.
Following the funding announcement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Matt Hancock, Giles has now written to local health leaders to ask how this funding will be utilised in the Clacton constituency.
Giles said:
“Winter is clearly a difficult time for the NHS, as last year showed. The Government are began planning earlier than ever this year how to support delivery of services during this challenging period. This additional funding for adult social care services is a key part of the plan, and will increase capacity in our hospitals. I am constantly fighting our corner to ensure we in Clacton don’t get left behind. I look forward to hearing how this funding will be spent in our local area.”