£10m to ease winter pressures in Scotland

The NHS in Scotland will receive £10 million to help cope with the ‘particular pressures’ of winter, including better staffing and efforts to tackle bed blocking.

The government said that the money would go to health boards and the ambulance service to ensure they were ‘well prepared’ for the coming months, with the NHS targeting managing care closer to home for those with long-term conditions and minor injuries, with a focus on better use of community pharmacies and more support to direct people to the best service for their needs.

Scotland's largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, will receive the biggest share of the cash, at almost £2.14 million, with NHS Lothian in line to receive more than £1.4 million.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: "Winter creates particular pressures on our health and social care system, so it's important that we are well prepared. Our £10 million investment will support boards as well as health and social care to put appropriate steps in place - particularly to make sure people are discharged in a timely way when it's safe to do so, and that the right staff are in place throughout the system.

“However, this requires more than just investment – we need strong leadership and collaborative working across the whole system to ensure people are getting the right help in the right place. We are already seeing examples of integration making a difference and we are focused on increasing the pace of this across Scotland.”

The funding is in addition to the £6.3 million previously allocated for unscheduled care.