The health and social care approach to winter
Sets out the wide range of preparations made to ensure that health and social care services remain resilient, joined up and available to patients over the coming months. It also announces the allocation of the £700 million Targeted Investment Fund.
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This publication is aimed at the general public. It is a joint publication between the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and Improvement.
It sets out the wide range of preparations we have made to ensure that health and social care services remain resilient, joined up and available to patients over the coming months.
It also announces the allocation of the £700 million Targeted Investment Fund. The fund will see:
- £330 million invested in NHS estate
- £250 million in new technology
- £120 million for any supporting revenue costs
This is a targeted investment focused on the highest priority areas to help return elective care services to pre-pandemic levels, from modular operating theatres to mobile breast screening units. It will support the aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024 to 2025 compared with pre-pandemic levels – equivalent to millions more checks, scans and procedures for non-emergency patients.
The importance of these preparations has been brought home to everyone with the emergence of the B.1.1.529 Omicron COVID-19 variant. With the roll-out and acceleration of COVID-19 boosters alongside the largest flu vaccine programme in UK history, we are doing more than ever to support people to stay well this winter. We will continue to work closely together across health and social care to ensure people continue to access the services they need, when they need them.