Care association National Care Forum (NCF) has welcomed plans by the government to discharge more people from hospital by buying up places in care homes.
Thousands of placements will be purchased for people who are medically fit to be discharged, as part of a £250 million initiative to free up more beds on hospital wards. Some of the money will be used to expand hospital provision for patients about to be discharged.
The new money comes on top of the £500 million adult social care discharge fund previously announced by the government.
“The emergency funding is indeed welcome,” said NCF CEO Vic Rayner. “This is a situation where care homes can and do make a real difference, enabling people to leave the acute system, gain support and rehabilitation, and then continue their journey home. This is already happening in many parts of the country, and the additional funding will make this happen at pace.”
Meanwhile, National Care Forum launched an NCF Dementia Network for members who aim to deliver high quality care and want to share ideas and hear from experts.