£478m to support hospital discharge

The Government has announced additional funding support of £478m which will allow people who leave hospital with potential care and support needs to be assessed after discharge and then, where necessary, provided with short-term reablement support.

This follows previous funding of £1.3bn last year, £588m from September 2020 to March 2021 and £594m for April to September 2021.

This approach is designed to speed up discharges and free up NHS beds but is also seen as a way of achieving better assessments in environments where people are likely to feel more comfortable than they would on a hospital ward.