£10m to support recovered Coronavirus patients back home

£10m of funding is being provided to Wales’ health and social care organisations to help get those recovered from Covid-19 home sooner.

Today’s announcement will fund new and enhanced home care packages to support patients to leave hospital for their ongoing assessment and recovery. It will also help fund crucial community services supporting the Covid-19 response that are helping people to stay at home safely.

The £10m will help provide for:

• The expansion of discharge from hospital schemes
• Additional capacity within the community to care for people discharged form hospital
• Maximising patients’ independence post Covid-19, including the purchasing of equipment for their home
• Enhanced community-based services to reduce pressure on primary and secondary care.

The aim is to limit unnecessary time in hospital settings and help prevent readmissions and new admissions.

Made available through Regional Partnership Boards that bring together Health Boards, local government and the third sector, the funding will be used to build upon or extend already established models of integrated care.

The £10m is in addition to £40m in support – announced earlier this month – which is available to Local Authorities to meet the additional costs for providers of adult social care.

The Health and Social Services Minister, Vaughan Gething, said:

“Our health and social care services and organisations are absolutely key in getting those who have recovered from Covid-19 back to where they should be – home. This funding will ensure that when they leave hospital, they are fully supported in a way which is right for individual needs. This is paramount.

“Across Wales there has been a clear and integrated collaborative approach; from point of admission, to enhancing community capacity, to optimising flow to free-up essential hospital capacity. The funding will ensure this continues as Covid-19 patients continue to recover and are released from hospital.

“I want to personally thank our health and social care workforce for their fantastic efforts in these challenging times, for protecting and supporting our nation.”