Government spends £100 million on winter care
pharmafile | January 17, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | CCG, PCTs, government, health bill
The government is to give doctors in Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) an extra £100 million to spend on improving patient care during the winter.
But there are conditions – the new money cannot be spent on running costs, and also there is a time limit – any unspent cash must be returned to the Department of Health by the middle of next month to spend on care elsewhere.
It is the first time that CCGs, the nascent organisations set in train by health secretary Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill, have been given specific funding by the government for patient care.
CCGs already receive their funds – about £29 billion in the six months from April 2011 – from PCT clusters, which will also be expected to sign off local plans for the new money.
This new cash injection – which amounts to £2 per head of each CCG’s population – highlights the ‘local’ provision of services, a trend that has been running for the past decade, with the money designed to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.
It will be spent “directly on local frontline care for their patients during the winter months” and “will harness the expertise of local clinicians who know better than anyone what their patients need”, Lansley says.
The government suggests it could be used by CCGs to provide more cover for urgent care services, improve out of hours services for patients or local arrangements with nursing homes, and extend GP practice opening times.
Local GP Dr Shane Gordon, chief executive of North East Essex CCG, called the extra funds “a welcome boost during a demanding part of the year”.
Adam Hill
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