NHS winter cash doubled
But almost £300k less than last year
Scottish Government ministers have doubled the funding allocated to NHS Forth Valley for its winter planning budget.
Forth Valley’s share of the Scottish Government winter planning funding has doubled from £255,150 to £521,000.
However, the total remains almost £300,000 short of the amount the board received for winter planning last financial year.
There was concern among NHS Forth Valley officials in September when it was announced that the board’s entire winter budget for this financial year was being halved compared with the previous 12 months.
However, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman MSP later said that was an initial allocation and she would be shaping further support for boards this winter in the light of the threat of Brexit.
The Scottish Government has now doubled their initial funding for winter planning across Scotland from £5 million to £10 million which is in line with last year’s funding.
Ms Freeman MSP said: “Winter creates particular pressures on our health and social care system, so it’s important that we are well prepared.
“Our £10 million investment will support boards as well as health and social care to put appropriate steps in place – particularly to make sure people are discharged in a timely way when it’s safe to do so, and that the right staff are in place throughout the system.
“However, this requires more than just investment – we need strong leadership and collaborative working across the whole system to ensure people are getting the right help in the right place. We are already seeing examples of integration making a difference and we are focused on increasing the pace of this across Scotland.”
For winter 2018-19, NHS Forth Valley was initially allocated £509,419 for winter planning before the health board successfully negotiated a further £300,000 on top of that.
But at September’s NHS Forth Valley board meeting, director of finance Scott Urquhart told board members there was “no expectation of further funding being announced”.
We need strong leadership and collaborative working