Milton Keynes Council receives extra winter funding for adult social care

The purpose of the funding is to help councils alleviate winter pressures on the NHS, getting patients home quicker and freeing up hospital beds across England.

Councils have already made significant progress across the country in tackling delayed transfers of care, achieving a 39% reduction in delayed transfers attributable to adult social care since February 2017.

Milton Keynes Council has been asked to ensure they are working with local NHS partners to explore how best the additional £908,078 can be used through the winter in their areas.

Milton Keynes North MP Mark Lancaster said: “I am pleased to see this additional support at such a critical time of year. We know bed blocking can slow the process of getting patients through A&E and into a ward. This funding will help make sure patients are transferred to an appropriate place of care and free up much needed capacity at our hospital.”

Milton Keynes South MP Iain Stewart added: “It’s thanks to our strong economy that we can make this extra investment in the NHS and in adult social care. Last winter was challenging, but thanks to the efforts and dedication of hard working frontline staff, over 500 more people were seen in A&E and admitted or discharged within four hours every day. This funding will help those staff to deliver the best possible care for patients this winter.”

This extra funding is on top of last month’s announcement that Milton Keynes University Hospital has received £630k to help with its bed capacity.