£10m funding for new day surgery site at Castle Hill
HOSPITAL AWARDED GOVERNMENT GRANT
CASTLE Hill Hospital has been granted £10m of government funding for a day surgery site, but plans for new medical and surgery wards at Hull Royal Infirmary appear to have been rejected.
Across the North East and Yorkshire, 26 hospital trusts will benefit from a share of £112m to expand wards, install theatres, upgrade outpatient spaces and MRI and screening technology, to help reduce waiting lists.
The day surgery at Castle Hill, which will house four new theatres, is being installed in the hope that it will “boost activity” and reduce the need for patients to stay overnight at the hospital.
The investment in the North East and Yorkshire is the second biggest in England behind the Midlands, where trusts have been allocated £131m to improve services.
The grant for Castle Hill is the biggest in the region by nearly £200,000. There is no mention of the submitted Hull Royal Infirmary scheme to build three new medical and surgery ward blocks and a major refurbishment of the existing hospital tower block.
The allocations for the £700m fund include £330m for upgrading NHS facilities, £250m for new technology and £120m for any supporting revenue costs.
It is hoped the funding, to be split across all regions in England, will help reduce waiting times for patients by expanding the number of operating theatres and beds,
including new day surgery units to prevent people staying overnight, and introducing new technology to improve experiences of care.
The Government is also setting out the key challenges facing NHS and social care services this winter, including Covid-19 and the potential threat of variants, preparations being undertaken to keep people safe and healthy, as well as the actions the public can take.
It comes after the Covid-19 booster programme was extended to all adults in England – with everyone aged over 18 to be offered a booster by the end of January – to help protect against the Omicron variant.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid said: “Ahead of what is going to be a difficult winter, we’re putting everything behind our health and care services, so everyone can access the services they need, when they need them.
“Our £700m investment will help more people get treated over the coming months by upgrading wards, operating theatres, and diagnostic kit.
“We’re taking unprecedented steps to keep people healthy this winter, putting the booster rollout on steroids, and delivering the largest flu vaccine programme in UK history.
“We can all play our part in the national mission – when you get the call, please get the jab.”
The new investment is part of the £5.4bn allocated to support the NHS response to the pandemic in the second half of the year.
In total, the Government is investing more than £34bn of additional funding in health and social care services this year.
From April 2022, the new Health and Social Care Levy will see UK wide healthcare funding rise by £36bn over the next three years.
The new funding includes a commitment to ring-fence an additional £8bn to fund waiting list recovery – what has been described as the biggest catch-up programme in NHS history.
The pandemic put pressure on the NHS. To fix this, the Government says the NHS needs to be able to offer more appointments, operations and treatments.
It has promised new innovative practices so patients continue to receive the best possible care.
Local proposals submitted to the New Hospital Programme last month focused on a £250m package of redevelopment projects at Hull Royal Infirmary (HRI) and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.
The HRI scheme would have involved building three medical and surgery wards and a major refurbishment of the hospital tower block which opened in 1967.
The HRI site is currently the focus of extensive new-build schemes, including the construction of a new three-storey front entrance at the main hospital tower block, the new £6m Allam Diabetes Centre fronting Anlaby Road and a new £8m intensive care unit.
A government document suggests the HRI proposals submitted under the New Hospital Programme have been rejected.