James Duddridge MP has welcomed an additional multi-million-pound funding investment for Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust to ensure A&E facilities are prepared for winter.
The extra £4.8m means that the Trust will be able to increase its A&E capacity, put enhanced infection prevention and control measures in place as well as make improvements to emergency care and services.
Commenting, James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, said:
"Staff at Southend Hospital and across the NHS have done an incredible job throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and I would like to thank them, once again, for the work they continue to do to keep us safe.
“This additional £4.8 million investment for Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is very welcome and the upgrades will ensure our A&E facilities across the Trust are prepared for what can be a busy winter period."
Meanwhile:
- The Government is providing £300 million to A&E departments across England, with work to be completed by the start of next year so hospitals can benefit from the upgrades during the peak of winter.
- In June, the Prime Minister announced plans to accelerate £5 billion of infrastructure spending as part of his New Deal for Britain–an ambitious economic strategy to rebuild Britain by putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of the Government’s plans.
- This funding forms part of the New Deal, which allocated a total of £1.5 billion this year for hospital maintenance, hospital building and A&E expansion. The funding also comes on top of the additional £3 billion that the Prime Minister recently announced to help prepare the NHS for the winter months ahead.
- This funding will allow the NHS to continue to use the extra hospital capacity acquired from the independent sector through the coronavirus pandemic, and also to maintain the Nightingale hospitals until the end of March next year.
