Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 36
36
Accepted
We are not reassured by the Director General for Adult Social Care’s comments that some...
Conclusion
We are not reassured by the Director General for Adult Social Care’s comments that some places have found ways to continue discharge to assess funding from their own funding streams, not least by her admission that these workarounds are only short-term and only “for the bits of it they think are vital”. The discharge to assess funding was an excellent example of effective health and care integration. Given the fragile state of adult social care and the magnitude of the NHS elective backlog, discharge to assess funding should be continued in order to help build back better. (Paragraph 145) Long-term funding of adult social care 81
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the positive impact of Discharge to Assess funding, stating they allocated £500 million in 2022-23 and provided £200 million to integrated care boards, and are providing £1.6 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government recognises the positive impact that central funding has had to facilitate the Discharge to Assess approach, particularly in improving patient flow and alleviating pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government allocated £500 million in 2022–23 to support timely and safe discharge from hospital through investment in social care and reablement services. In addition, the government provided £200 million of funding to enable integrated care boards to go further in commissioning step-down bed-based capacity and associated clinical and therapeutic support. Over 2023–24 and 2024–25, the government is providing £1.6 billion which can be spent flexibly by local areas on a range of measures to support timely and effective hospital discharge and free up hospital beds. Both 2022–23 discharge funding and the further funding committed for 2023–24 and 2024–25 are designed to support more consistent implementation of discharge to assess and ‘home first’ as best practice approaches.