NHS E announced £325m of capital investment for local projects that will help the NHS to modernise and transform care for patients.
Speaking at the King’s Fund, Mr Hunt and Mr Stevens gave the green light to local capital investment schemes in 15 areas of the country, with the largest sums being used for urgent care in Dorset, surgery in Greater Manchester and cancer care in Cumbria.
Patients should see this investment deliver faster diagnosis for conditions like cancer, easier access to mental health care, expansion of A&Es, shorter waits for operations, and more services in GPs surgeries.
This round of funding will support Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) across the country, with plans including:
- In Greater Manchester, up to £50m will be made available to help hospitals deliver significant improvements in urgent and emergency care by concentrating services in four hub sites across the city, expected to save around 300 lives each year in general surgery alone.
- In Cumbria, £30m – £50m will be used to improve access to chemo and radiotherapy by establishing a brand new cancer centre, complete with new equipment at Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
- In Derbyshire, up to £30m will be invested to create an ‘Urgent Care Village’ at the Royal Derby with GP services, a frailty clinic and mental health services to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place, first time, and avoid going to A&E unnecessarily.
This initial tranche of funding has been targeted at the strongest and most advanced schemes in STPs. All plans have been developed locally. If your area is listed specifically, please let us know how you feel this is making a difference Bernd.Sass@disabilityrightsuk.org