£240m boost in care to ease bedblocking

MATT Hancock will today announce a huge funding boost for social care in a bid to avert a winter crisis in the NHS.

The Health Secretary will say that £240million is to be handed to town halls to ensure they can provide care for older people in the community – freeing up hospital beds.

The Mail revealed last month that the number of people left stuck in hospital beds – so-called bedblockers – is rising again due to the social care crisis. In July, almost 130,000 days of care were lost in hospitals because staff were unable to move patients – up 4,000 on the previous month.

Mr Hancock will make his announcement on funding – enough to buy 71,500 domestic care packages or 86,500 re-ablement packages – at the conference. He will say: ‘ I am making an extra £240million available to pay for social care.

‘We will use this money to get people who don’t need to be in hospital, but do need care, back home, back into their communities. And help people get the hospital care they need.’