Councils get £10m to ease A&E pressures amid social care crisis
Councils in the Black Country and Staffordshire have received a funding boost of nearly £10 million to ease pressures on hospital A&E departments.
The Government money comes as emergency departments across the region head into the annual winter crisis in a desperate state, failing to meet NHS waiting time targets and suffering from overcrowding and bed blocking.
The funding, which has been announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, is aimed at getting patients home quicker from hospital and freeing up beds.
Cash-strapped local authorities across the region have welcomed the boost, although many council leaders have called for a long term solution to the crisis in adult social care.
Staffordshire County Council will get £3.54m, Sandwell gets £1.85m, Dudley has been given £1.56m, Walsall has been allocated £1.43m and Wolverhampton is to receive £1.38m.
The entire West Midlands region will get £26.8m as part of a national total of £240m.
Mr Hancock said: “We will use this money to help people who don’t need to be in hospital, but do need care, to get back home, into their communities, so we can then free up those vital hospital beds, and help more people get the hospital care they need.”
The cash can be used to fund home care packages, which enable patients to get out of hospital quicker.
It can also pay for home adaptions for patients with limited movement, and the provision of support workers to help patients regain mobility and confidence.
Conservative-led Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader, Councillor Alan White, said that although the money was welcome, a ‘long term solution’ was required.
He added: “We welcome the money and it will certainly take some of the pressures off this winter.
“But this will not solve the problem in the long term.
"Addressing the funding gap that exists between the demands of social care and the money we have to spend on it is crucial.
“This is a temporary measure. There needs to be a long term solution.”
Councillor Roger Lawrence, the leader of Labour-controlled Wolverhampton Council, said: “Any assistance is welcome but we need certainty to plan services and this looks like a quick fix.
"Hopefully the Budget this month may give us longer term support to cope with increasing demand.”
Meanwhile Sandwell Council’s Labour leader, Councillor Steve Eling, branded the funding ‘a sticking plaster’.
Mike Bird, the Tory leader of Walsall Council, said: “The £1.4 million will certainly help. Whether it is enough remains to be seen.”
In September the NHS received up to £145m to boost winter resilience.
