Kelly Tolhurst, MP for Rochester and Strood, has today warmly welcomed the £240m of additional funding for councils to spend on adult social care services to reduce pressures on the NHS this winter.

It has been confirmed that Medway Council will receive just under £1million (£997,871) to help alleviate winter pressures on our local NHS, getting patients home quicker and freeing up hospital beds at Medway Maritime Hospital. In addition, this money will help to reduce delayed transfers, reduce extended lengths of stay, improve weekend discharge arrangements, and speed up the process of assessing what social care is needed for patients in hospitals.

This winter funding top up also comes on the back of Kelly Tolhurst’s successful lobby earlier in the year to increase Medway’s funding settlement by £600,000 which all went towards adult social care services.

However, Kelly has also led calls for Medway Maritime Hospital to have its winter A&E funding increased after the initial proposal fell at just 10% of the total it received next year. Kelly has recently written to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock MP and is due to meet him in the coming weeks.

Kelly Tolhurst MP said,

“This is wonderful news for Medway residents and a huge boost to our enormously important adult social care services before the winter pressures build up.

“It's so important for each and every one of us are able to access all aspects of our health and social care services and I expect this funding boost will go some way towards helping hardworking carers provide the best possible care to adult patients this winter.

“However, for our hospital to have their pressures eased properly this funding needs to be partnered with sufficient winter A&E relief and I am disappointed this is not yet the case. However, I want to reassure residents that I am working on this with colleagues at the Health Department.”