The NHS is under enormous pressure as they face the busiest winters in history, with the latest weekly data showing flu cases in hospitals increased by almost half putting additional strain on already busy wards and departments.
There is no doubt that this poses an extreme challenge for the public and for our healthcare, as the NHS now deals with the pressures of COVID-19, and the flu as well as tackling backlogs from the strains of the pandemic alongside the upcoming industrial action.
Up to £250m to be made available to speed up hospital discharge within the NHS
With the recent announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care, there are plans to make available up to £250m of additional funding to help provide extra beds in care homes and other settings in order to speed up hospital discharge.
Thousands of medically fit patients will be discharged from hospitals in community care settings and many will be given support from their GP’s, nurses and other community-based clinicians.
In a press release statement, Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay mentions: ‘We are trialling 6 National Discharge Frontrunners – innovative quick solutions which could reduce discharge delays, moving patients from hospital to home quickly’
This adds an increasing amount of pressure on patient transport coordinators and therefore will mean extra resources will need to be sought to arrange transport for patients with urgent and non-urgent needs.
In total, up to £14.1 billion in additional funding will be invested by the government over the next 2 years to improve urgent and emergency care and tackle the backlog – the highest spend on health and care in any government’s history
How can Allocate Transport Marketplace help Trusts with sourcing transport?
Developed with and for the NHS, our online Procurement solution – Allocate Transport Marketplace, has over over 200 compliant and approved transport providers ready to help with the surging demand. Free for the NHS, it gives users the ability to self-manage their transport procurement needs, end-to-end. Or if it’s preferred, we can manage it all in-house.
Our service is also flexible and can be adapted to meet any NEPTS requirements (including Mental Health journeys), meaning we can help you to provide an effective service with minimal delay.
At RLDatix, we’re supporting numerous Trusts across the UK with our team working to ensure that the highest standard of care and security is provided by transport providers during this critical time.
We’re committed to helping our NHS and our frontline carers and understand the importance of moving patients safely and securely, as quickly as possible which is why it’s our number one priority.
So let’s start doing things differently for better and safer healthcare.
As soon as you’re ready, we’re here to help you. Give us a call to tell us your requirements or send us an email on [email protected]
For Transport Providers who are looking to work with the NHS, speak to us today to see how we can help you get onto our framework.
