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Graeme DeyGraeme Dey
You are at:Home»Holyrood»Health»Extra NHS Support for Winter

Extra NHS Support for Winter

JamieBy Jamie27th October 202321 Views5 Mins Read Health
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£50m to Build Ambulance Service Capacity

A £50 million funding boost for Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) recruitment and up to £12 million to expand Hospital at Home are among measures to support the health and care system this winter.

The Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Winter Plan, published this week, identifies funding for SAS to support work already underway to recruit a further 317 frontline staff to help increase capacity to emergency response. It will also see 18 additional clinicians working in the call centre hub who, through additional triage, can offer patients alternative treatment routes in cases which are not time-critical, reducing the number of hospital admissions.

The expansion of Hospital at Home, which enables people to be treated at home rather than on a ward, is intended to deliver at least 380 additional beds this winter – significantly increasing the total service capacity.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with COSLA, Health and Social Care Partnerships, and NHS Boards on a number of further measures to ensure they are prepared for the winter period. This includes a Delayed Discharge Action Plan and improvements to the reporting of data to better identify specific areas for further support or escalation.

Since the end of last winter, the Scottish Government has been planning ahead for the winter we are headed into now.

It is determined to ensure maximum preparedness for the expected increase in demand.

Frontline healthcare workers like ambulance teams are at the forefront of this, and I greatly welcome the additional investment in the ambulance service as well as in the Hospital at Home scheme.

This comes on top of very considerable investment across the board to boost our NHS and social care capacity and workforce, who I would like to take the opportunity to thank for their tireless, critical efforts.

GRAEME

Health Secretary @MathesonMichael has set out details of the Winter Plan for health and social care to parliament.https://t.co/MTmIQX3blw pic.twitter.com/owKZMz6yIH

— Scot Gov Health (@scotgovhealth) October 24, 2023

Our highly skilled and committed workforce are the cornerstone of our response every winter, both in health and social care. I am extremely grateful for their continued hard work and dedication in the face of sustained pressure. As we approach the Winter period their efforts will be vital in ensuring we deliver high quality care for the public.

We are in no doubt that this winter will be extremely challenging for our health and social care system. Our Winter plan builds on the lessons we have learned from previous years and preparations have been on-going since spring. Our whole system approach is based on ensuring people can access the care that is right for them – at the right time and in the right place.

Our additional investment of up to £12 million to expand the Hospital at Home service will allow people, especially elderly patients, patients with respiratory conditions and children, to receive treatments in the comfort of their own home and will crucially help reduce pressure on our A&E departments this winter.

As a result our significant investment of over £15 million, an additional 1,000 nurses, midwives and Allied Health Professional from overseas have joined NHS Scotland in the last two years to bolster our existing workforce this winter. Our £50 million funding boost for the Scottish Ambulance Service will also help tackle increased demand and support on-going recruitment to drive up capacity for emergency response. This investment will also help reduce the need for people to go to hospital which is a key part of our approach this winter.

HEALTH SECRETARY MICHAEL MATHESON

Find out how the Scottish Government and COSLA have collaborated to deliver health enhancements ahead of the winter months.https://t.co/Cr4oRJkMUc@scotgov | @COSLA | @MathesonMichael#Health #SocialCare #Scotland pic.twitter.com/v0a8Cgpln7

— Public Sector Executive PSE (@thepsenews) October 25, 2023

As key partners in ensuring people and communities are safe and cared for over the winter period, and indeed throughout the year, local authorities have a vital role in enabling people to continue to safely access the care and support they need when they need it. We expect the winter to be a very challenging period across the whole health and social care system at a time when the system is already experiencing significant demand pressures and challenges with recruitment and retention.

That is why COSLA have worked closely with Scottish Government in producing this plan, recognising the importance of the integration of health and social care, and the clear leadership role of Local Government in doing everything we can to maximise capacity across health, social care, and social work, and ensure people get safe and timely access to services during peak winter pressures.

COSLA Health & Social Care Spokesperson, Cllr Paul Kelly

Background

The Scottish Government’s Winter Plan Health and Social Care Winter Preparedness Plan 2023/24 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot) has been developed jointly with COSLA.

Right Care Right Place

Hospital at Home enables people to receive treatments that would otherwise require them to be admitted to hospital, such as an intravenous drip or oxygen supply. It also provides access to hospital tests under the care of a consultant in their own home. The purpose of the service is to reduce hospital admissions by providing treatments in the comfort and familiarity of their own home. The expansion is funded from Barnett consequentials announced by the UK Government in September.

A record number of additional staff have been recruited to the Scottish Ambulance Service in the last three years with 1,388 people joining the service since 2020.

health health & social care heathcare NHS NHS winter plan scottish ambulance service
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I’m Graeme’s Parliamentary Assistant at Holyrood, but I also support his constituency work alongside my Angus-based colleagues. I joined Graeme's team in 2019, having previously worked for an MP up in my native Aberdeenshire and in fundraising roles in the education and third sectors.

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Graeme Dey is the the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Angus South Constituency.

Having worked for The Courier newspaper for 26 years, Graeme was elected to Holyrood in 2011.

In March 2023, Graeme was chosen by First Minister Humza Yousaf to be Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans.

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