The government will inject £200 million into the NHS to discharge medically fit patients into care homes to free up hospital beds and reduce pressure.
The additional funding will be used to immediately buy short-term care placement so patients can be discharged safely from hospitals into local community settings such as care homes. They will then receive the care they need in such settings before returning home.
There are currently roughly 13,000 people occupying hospital beds in England who are fit enough to be discharged. The extra funding will be placed on top of the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund which was provided in December to help discharge people more quickly.
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“The NHS is under enormous pressure from Covid and flu, and on top of tackling the backlog caused by the pandemic, Strep A and upcoming strikes, this winter poses an extreme challenge," Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said.
"I am taking urgent action to reduce pressure on the health service, including investing an additional £200 million to enable the NHS to immediately buy up beds in the community to safely discharge thousands of patients from hospital and free up hospital capacity, on top of the £500 million we’ve already invested to tackle this issue.
"In addition, we are trialling six National Discharge Frontrunners – innovative, quick solutions which could reduce discharge delays, moving patients from hospital to home more quickly.”
Ideas to help patients move out of hospital more quickly have already been put forward by Sussex Health and Care, the Northern Care Alliance, Humber and North Yorkshire, One Croydon Alliance, Leeds Health and Care Partnership, and Warwickshire Place. Some of the ideas include dedicated dementia hubs and data tools to help manage demand for the discharge of medically fit patients.
Minister for Care, Helen Whately, said: "Getting people out of hospital on time is more important than ever. It’s good for patients and it helps hospitals make space for those who need urgent care. We’re launching six Discharge Frontrunners to lead the way with innovations to help get people out of hospital and back home.
“Winter is always hard for the NHS and social care, and this year especially with flu in high circulation. That’s why we provided the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund earlier in the winter.
“As well as helping people right now, we’re looking ahead to make our health and care system work better next winter and beyond. These problems are not new but now is the time to fix them for the future.”
Prolonged stays in hospital beds can contribute to poorer outcomes for patients - especially elderly people - such as increased muscle loss, making rehabilitation more difficult. It can also lead to increased exposure to infections as well as negatively impact mental health.
In total, up to £14.1 billion additional funding will be invested by the government over the next two years to help improve urgent and emergency care while tackling the NHS backlog. Furthermore, £7.5 billion of this support will be allocated for adult social care and discharge over the next two years in hopes of easing pressure.
Sarah-Jane Marsh, National Director of Urgent and Emergency Care said: “There is no doubt the NHS is under pressure with latest weekly data showing flu cases in hospital increased by almost half putting additional strain on already busy wards and departments. We want to ensure all patients ready to leave hospital do so quickly and safely, and NHS staff are working closely with local authority colleagues to help get more patients out of hospital when they are medically fit to do so.
“We hope the frontrunner programme will offer new solutions for local systems to help patients access the services they need and help to free up bed space in NHS hospitals.”
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