Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has received £4 million in winter capital funding from the Department of Health and Social Care. The money aims to help ease winter pressures in the Emergency Departments in its hospitals in Basingstoke and Winchester, which is where the greatest pressure is often felt during the winter months.
The money has been assigned to the Trust out of a national capital allocation of £145 million as preparations for the winter months begin.
Most of the funding will be utilised for estates projects which will allow the Trust to increase capacity in the two emergency departments and assessment units, improving the flow of patients through the hospitals. Some of the money will also be used for point of care testing equipment and flu screening equipment.
Alex Whitfield, chief executive of the Trust, which runs Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital, said: "We are delighted to have secured this money from the Department of Health and Social Care. It will have a really positive impact on patients coming through our doors this winter.
"The winter can be a challenging time for hospitals across the country, and I am extremely proud of the hard working staff in our emergency departments and throughout our hospitals who do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances. We are working hard to plan as best we can for the next few months.
"The funding has to be spent very quickly and we have agreed to the national condition that any changes supported must be operational and benefitting our patients by Christmas Eve, so I want to say a big thank you to our team behind the scenes making this happen to ensure that we are providing the best possible patient care."
Steve Brine said: "This is much needed and well deserved funding for our local hospital. We all benefit from this kind of investment one way or another, especially when it eases the winter pressures which put so much strain on our NHS and its hard-working staff."
