Rachel has welcomed an extra £2.6 million in Government funding to speed up hospital discharge and to ease pressures on the Alex.
The Government has made available up to £200 million of additional funding to immediately buy short-term care placements to allow people to be discharged safely from hospitals into the community where they will receive the care they need to recover before returning to their homes.
The move will free up hospital beds so people can be admitted more quickly from A&E to wards, reducing pressure on emergency departments and speeding up ambulance handovers.
This builds on the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund announced at the Autumn Statement.
Of the £200 million in extra funding, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board has been allocated £2.6 million.
Today (January 24th), Rachel questioned Health Minister Helen Whately in the House of Commons about how this funding will help to reduce pressure on the Alex.
Rachel said: “I warmly welcome this extra funding for our local NHS which will help to speed up hospital discharge and free up capacity, ensuring more of my constituents get the treatment they need more quickly.
“This funding is already delivering results on the ground and I will continue to work with Ministers and local health bosses to ensure my constituents receive the first-class healthcare they deserve.”
In response to Rachel’s question, Minister Whately confirmed the additional funding for Worcestershire is already going into extra placements in home care, community care and care homes.
It is also being used to provide practical support to help people when they get home from hospital in partnership with the voluntary sector.
