NHS to get £100m cash injection to improve services

Patients across the country will benefit as the NHS receives a cash injection of up to £100 million to boost services in their communities, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced today.

The Department of Health is providing up to £100 million in additional funding to doctors in emerging Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to improve local services and reduce pressures on the NHS during the colder months.

Clinicians in these groups will spend the money directly on local care services that best meet their patients’ clinical needs and prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital. For example, prospective Clinical Commissioning Groups could use the funding to:
•    provide more effective cover for urgent care services
•    improve out of hours services for patients
•    improve local arrangements with nursing homes
•    extend GP practice opening times, or
•    commission any service which supports patients in the community and in their homes to help avoid unnecessary visits to hospital.

This is the first time these prospective clinical groups have been given money to spend on patient services. They will have £2 per head of population made available to them via their Primary Care Trust (PCT) cluster to spend this financial year.