The Government has announced £325 million of capital investment for local projects that will help the NHS to modernise and transform care for patients.
Local capital investment schemes in 15 areas of the country have been given the go ahead, with the largest sums being used for urgent care in Dorset, surgery in Greater Manchester and cancer care in Cumbria.
The projects receiving funding include the following:
- 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, between £30 and £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 funding has been targeted at the strongest and most advanced schemes in the STP categories based on an assessment of leadership and service performance. All plans have been developed locally in consultation with the public.
The funding was secured in the Budget in March when the Government also committed to make further capital investment available in the forthcoming Autumn Statement.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “This funding will support strong local plans to help the NHS modernise and transform care for patients.
“A measure of success of these transformation partnerships is that people can see and feel improvements being made in their local area – there are already excellent examples of this across the country and this money will allow them to go further and faster.”
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens added: “We’re firing the starting gun on the first wave of major service upgrades and care redesign which will benefit people living in counties, towns and cities across England. For patients it’ll mean easier GP appointments, modern A&Es, and better cancer and mental health care. For staff, we’re putting our money where our mouth is in backing these practical plans developed by doctors, nurses and local NHS leaders.
“This is the first down payment of much needed investment in modern equipment and NHS facilities, with more promised in the autumn and beyond.”
The strongest STPs have performed well across indicators in three broad areas: hospital performance, patient-focused change, and transformation.
Reaction:
Chris Ham, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said: "For STPs to be successful, capital funding is needed to support the transformation of health and care services. This announcement is very welcome, and should be seen as a first instalment of the much larger capital investment promised in the Budget and by the Prime Minister in the election campaign."
Royal College of Physicians president, professor Jane Dacre, said: "The news of more investment for certain sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) is very welcome. Such innovative projects, which involve patients, healthcare staff and the wider public are clearly the best way forward in treating patients today and in the future. However, for such projects to be a success, it is also essential that we train the next generation of NHS leaders in such quality improvement work.
"We look forward to working with Trusts and hospitals in implementing the outcomes of this encouraging work in future."
