21 September 2016

Health boards across Scotland are sharing an additional £9 million this year for emergency departments, hospitals and primary and social care teams to get ready for winter.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon highlighted the funding during a visit to the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) unit at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE).

Great to meet staff at ERI today – thanks to hard work like theirs, Scotland's A&E units are best performing in UK. https://t.co/qldqHP0Lwq

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 21, 2016

By enhancing staffing cover over winter, providing the same level of discharging at weekends as midweek or providing treatment in the community, patients will get the best care in the most appropriate place, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and freeing up beds and resources for those who need them most.

The First Minister said:

The additional £9 million for this year will ensure patients get the best treatment in the most appropriate place, easing pressure on our A&E departments and maximising patient flows within hospitals which face additional admission demands in winter.

“With more and more people now living with long term conditions, and a growing number of older people with multiple and complex conditions, it is also vital that the NHS has robust preventative care plans. Winter guidance was issued to boards in August and health boards are now well advanced in their unscheduled care planning – putting them on the front foot to build on last year’s good performance and deal with additional pressures throughout the coming winter.”