NHS to receive £700m in winter funding

The NHS will receive £700m this winter to enable hospitals to expand wards, install modular operating theatres and upgrade MRI and screening technology.

The money, which is part of the £5.4bn spending package announced in September, is designed to reduce waiting times at NHS hospitals and will be split three ways: £330m for upgrading facilities at NHS hospitals, £250m for new technology and £120m for any supporting revenue costs.

The funding will cover the costs of:

• Extra day surgery units to create more capacity and to avoid patients having to stay overnight or longer
• Additional permanent and modular theatres, as well as surgical hub, in several trusts increase the number of operations that can be carried out
• Expanding outpatient space for those not staying overnight, again to increase the numbers of patients who can be seen.
• Upgrading or purchasing or new imaging equipment, including MRI scanners and mobile breast screening units.

In total, 785 schemes have been approved, including:

• £13.8m for new wards at University Hospitals Birmingham, delivering 164 additional adult inpatient beds across the trust
• £14.4m at St George’s Hospitals to deliver a new modular facility providing 20 intensive treatment unit beds
• £10.2m to develop a new South Mersey Elective Hub, with two new theatres and recovery areas
• £10m for a day surgery site in Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, which will house four theatres, as well as all supporting services
• £7.1m to build a modular ward at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with 32 beds
• £5.9m at Bedford Hospital to create 20 flexible multi-purpose outpatient rooms

Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said: “Ahead of what is going to be a difficult winter, we’re putting everything behind our health and care services, so everyone can access the services they need, when they need them.”

NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said:

“NHS staff have pulled out all the stops since the beginning of the pandemic treating more than half a million Covid patients, while continuing to perform millions of checks, tests and treatments for non-Covid reasons.”

He said he expected the winter was going to be ‘tough”, as staff had contended with the “highest ever number” of 999 calls in October.