01 May 2009

NHS Staff Funded For Community Services

NHS staff have received awards totalling £1.5m to pursue projects that will work toward developing services in the community such as bi-lingual stroke rehabilitation programmes and diet and nutrition training, announced the Department of Health today.

The awards follow on from the commitment made in High Quality Care for All and are a direct response to feedback from patients calling for more services to be developed closer to patient's homes and in the communities where they live.

The winners, who include nurses and allied health professionals have been encouraged to take a lead in this programme of transformation to asses local service needs, decide priorities, shape outcomes and develop community services for the future.

To support this innovation and leadership work, £1.5m funding for Innovation Awards was announced in January 2009 By Christine Beasley, Chief Nursing Officer, to enable NHS staff to develop ideas to transform community services.

Chief Nursing Officer, Christine Beasley said: "It is really encouraging to see so many great examples of innovation, good practice and teamwork within community services.

"These award winners reflect the SHAs local priorities as set out in their Next Stage Review responses to transform services and improve the quality of care for patients in their own communities, giving people more say, more choice and more control over their own health care."

A further £220 million fund has also been announced this week building on the Government's firm commitment to create an innovative health service.

England's ten Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) will each receive £2 million this year and £5 million in each of the following four years. This will support frontline NHS staff and help ensure that great ideas get recognised, that funding is available and that the time it takes for solutions to get from design bench to NHS bedside is speeded up.

(JM/BMcC)