Rishi Sunak faces accusations he has misled the public after it emerged hospitals and councils have not received £300m in emergency funding to free up NHS beds that was first promised four months ago.
The government announced last September it was providing an extra £500m to get thousands of medically fit patients out of hospital into their own homes or social care as soon as possible to prevent the NHS becoming overwhelmed this winter.
In a speech on Wednesday, the prime minister admitted the “biggest problem” facing the NHS was the 13,000 patients in hospital who “should ideally be back in their communities or in social care”. Sunak said: “We’ve put half a billion pounds into what’s called early discharge, to help move people into the community this winter.”
However, the Guardian has learned only £200m – 40% of the emergency funding – has been given to the NHS and local authorities. The remaining £300m has not materialised and will not be disbursed until 23 January.
“When it was first announced back in September, we welcomed it, but now here we are, past Christmas, and most of it has still not arrived,” said Mike Padgham, the chair of the Independent Care Group, a body representing social care providers. “It’s very, very disappointing. It’s a scandal it’s been so slow to arrive.”
The first £200m was not provided until 9 December, the Guardian has learned, and the remaining £300m will not be available for at least another fortnight.
“It would have been possible for us to help the NHS more if we had the staff to look after people in the community,” said Padgham. “But we needed this money to retain and recruit staff months ago – and it just hasn’t arrived quickly enough.”
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said NHS leaders initially welcomed the government’s announcement of the adult social care discharge fund in September. “We said then that it was critical this funding was made available to services as soon as possible to allow NHS organisations to work closely with their local government counterparts to put it to use as quickly as possible ahead of winter.
“The stark reality is local systems needed that money months ago for it to make any difference ahead of this winter. NHS leaders have frequently told us that in order to use the funding to expand capacity in the NHS over winter as intended they need this funding much further in advance – ideally up to six months before.”
Prof Philip Banfield, the chair of the British Medical Association, said: “Hospitals across the country are being told there is more money to help free up beds. So why are we still forced to put patients on trolleys in corridors? The very least we should be able to expect from the government is to be honest with doctors and with the public, and worryingly we are seeing very little even of that.”
On Tuesday, Sunak was accused of being “delusional” after he denied the NHS was in crisis and insisted it had the money it needed to cope with the current pressures.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sunak was “confident” the NHS had received “the funding it needs”, adding: “We are doing everything possible to increase the number of beds.”
The Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, Daisy Cooper, said: “It appears that Rishi Sunak and No 10 have deliberately misled the public about how much of the funding the government promised has been provided.
“Given the huge pressures facing our hospitals and ambulance services, it’s crucial that this extra cash is released without delay. Patients and NHS staff deserve emergency support and a proper plan to save lives, not more empty spin.”
On Monday, the Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement: “NHS staff do an incredible job and we recognise the pressures the NHS is facing following the impact of the pandemic.
“That’s why we’ve backed the NHS and social care with up to £14.1bn additional funding over the next two years and this winter we have provided an extra £500m to speed up hospital discharge and free up beds.”
However, when contacted by the Guardian, a spokesperson confirmed only £120m had been provided to NHS boards and £80m to local authorities. The remaining £300m “will be paid by end of 23 January”, the spokesperson said.
