The funding was awarded from a £100m capital fund following a Department of Health request to each hospital in England to introduce Primary Care Streaming into A&E* by October 2017.
This capital money from NHS England has been specifically ring-fenced to support hospitals across England deliver their national programme as part of the Next Steps NHS Five Year Forward View.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently announced £20.74million of funding to 27 hospitals across England.
The £842,600 awarded to Weston General Hospital will be invested into its A&E department to improve primary care streaming.
Similarly to other hospitals who bid for the money, it will mean that Weston can build a primary care facility within its A&E unit for patients’ whose clinical conditions do not need to be treated by an Emergency Doctor.
Plans to increase primary care streaming (as per NHS England’s national programme) include redesigning A&E so that patients have access to a greater range of health professionals for their needs – including nurse practitioners, pharmacists and physiotherapists.
Phil Walmsley, Director of Operations at Weston Area Health NHS Trust, said: “We’re delighted to receive this additional funding.
“Many patients who walk in to our A&E don’t need to be treated by an Emergency Doctor. This investment will then allow us to change the way we see patients in our A&E by offering wider access to healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists, pharmacists and nurse practitioners instead.
“This ensures that all our patients – those with serious life threatening emergencies and with more minor conditions - are directed to the most appropriate care for their needs as quickly as possible. It also makes it easier for A&E staff to work more effectively.
“We’ll begin investing in our A&E department immediately, so we’re better equipped to manage the needs of our local community.”
A wider local primary care strategy to improve access for local people and better support GP surgeries will be published by the region’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in the coming weeks.
The temporary overnight closure the Trust announced on the 14 June is still planned to take place on the 4 July. Despite significant efforts to recruit and retain specialist staff, the Trust is struggling to put in place the right number of permanent hospital doctors needed to fully staff an A&E team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A temporary overnight closure is planned on grounds of patient safety as a short term measure.
This additional capital money has been awarded following a bid by the Trust to the £100m capital fund set up by the Department of Health to improve access to a variety of healthcare professionals in an A&E department and improve primary care streaming.