Redbridge’s NHS services will receive more than £1.1million of extra funding this winter to help alleviate growing pressures on our hospitals, the Department for Health announced today (Wednesday, October 17).

The £1,115,976 of extra funding, part of a £240 million fund announced by health and social care secretary Matt Hancock earlier this month, is aimed at reducing delayed transfers of care and getting patients home quicker to free up hospital beds.

All in all, London councils will benefit from a total of £37,170,352 of extra funding this winter.

Councils have been allocated the funding based on the adult social care relative needs formula and letters have been sent out today to inform them.

The health and care system attempts to ensure patients return home from hospital once their treatment has finished and delays attributable to adult social care have been reduced by 39pc across England since February last year.

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said: “I want to help the NHS through this winter.

“I have already provided funding for hospitals to make upgrades to their buildings to deal with pressures this winter, and I am making an extra £240million available to councils to pay for social care packages this winter to support our NHS.

“We will use this money to help people who don’t need to be in hospital, but do need care, to get back home, into their communities, so we can then free up those vital hospital beds, and help more people get the hospital care they need.”

In September, the NHS received up to £145million for trusts across the county to boost winter resilience, which will go toward upgrading wards, redeveloping A&E departments, and pay for an extra 900 beds.

And a total of £36.3million was awarded to ambulance trusts in June to prepare for this winter, and will go towards buying 256 new state-of-the-art ambulances.

Aside from funding, NHS leaders have also announced an ambition for 100% of frontline workers to get the flu jab to protect patients as part of a comprehensive plan for this winter.

For the first time, children in school year 5 will be offered the flu vaccine, meaning as a result, all children aged between 2 and 9 will be offered the flu vaccine.