By Tony O’Riley-
Boris Johnson has announce a £300m boost for NHS upgrades to cope with winter pressures
NHS trusts across England will receive £300 million to upgrade their facilities ahead of the winter amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus, Boris Johnson has announced.
The mega funding will be split between 117 trusts, alongside attempts to reassure members of the public that it is safe to visit A&E departments during the Covid-19 pandemic
The extra cash would enable hospitals to maintain essential services and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection during the coming months.
The source of the funding is a £1.5 billion capital building allocation for the the NHS set out by Mr Johnson in June.
With the funding, hospitals will be able to use the funding to expand waiting areas and increase the number of treatment cubicles to boost A&E capacity, while social distancing rules and hygiene measures are in place to protect patients from Covid-19.
The Prime Minister said the extra funding will enable hospitals to upgrade. In all, 117 trusts will benefit from the funding which could be used by hospitals to increase their A&E capacity, with more treatment cubicles and expanded waiting areas to ease overcrowding and improve infection control.
It could also enable hospitals to increase the provision of same-day emergency care and improve patient flows to help them to better respond to winter pressures and the risks of fresh coronavirus outbreaks.
Officials said the projects would all be completed by the start of 2021 so that hospitals would benefit from the upgrades during the peak months of winter.
Mr Johnson said: “We continue to deliver on our promise to build back better and faster, with £300 million allocated today for NHS trusts to upgrade their facilities and improve A&E capacity.
It’s vital that those who need emergency treatment this winter access it
Boris Johnson said: “These upgrades will help our fantastic NHS prepare for the winter months, helping them to deliver essential services and reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.”
The funding adds to a £3 billion cash injection for the NHS in England, with extra funding also for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – announced last month to help it to cope with the expected winter pressures.
It is expected to enable the NHS to continue to use the extra hospital capacity acquired from the independent sector. The funding will also be sufficient to help the Nhs maintain the Nightingale hospitals until the end of March and expand its flu vaccination programme.
Mr Johnson said it was essential that people who needed emergency treatment during the winter should attend hospital, confident that they will not become infected with the virus.
“Thanks to the hard work and tireless efforts of NHS staff throughout the pandemic, our A&Es have remained open for the public,” he said.
“It’s vital that those who need emergency treatment this winter access it, and for those who remain concerned about visiting hospitals, let me assure you that the NHS has measures in place to keep people safe.”
Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said that while any additional funding was helpful, there were limits to what this could achieve.
He said: “We know our units involved in acute and urgent care, whether they be emergency departments (EDs) or our acute medical units and surgical assessment units, are all anxious about how they can see patients and keep them ‘Covid secure’.
“This funding seems earmarked for the EDs but that will not help the others and we know that up to 40% of those people who need an acute medical bed do not actually enter the hospital via the ED.
“It is imperative that any work done in the EDs must not disadvantage these people when it comes to acute care.”
He added: “The money is welcome but how do we think we can actually implement what would be building works in existing units whilst remaining safe and efficient – all before any rise in either Covid or non-Covid patients which, if like last winter, may start before the end of October.”