LIBERAL DEMOCRATS BRING CARE CLOSER TO HOME

Patients in Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead will benefit from £1.1m of new investment under a new "Care Closer to Home" fund launched by the Liberal Democrats. This targets care in people's own homes, GP surgeries, care homes and community clinics and is designed to help people to stay healthier for longer and avoid hospital admissions.

George Fussey, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Windsor, says

"This initiative helps ensure patients get the right care, at the right time, in the right place with more control over their treatment and support. Our commitment to a fairer society is also shown by our desire to improve access and waiting time standards for mental health patients which is why we have pledged £500m extra a year to support this from 2015/16 onwards."

"The other parties have yet to match our commitment to get the NHS the £8bn a year extra funding it says it needs by the end of the next parliament to safeguard services.

Thanks to Liberal Democrats in government there are now 9,500 more doctors and 7,500 more nurses than when Labour left power which underlines our commitment to health. The NHS budget has increased by £12.7bn under the Liberal Democrats in Government. That's almost the amount wasted by Labour on their failed NHS supercomputer."

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS BRING CARE CLOSER TO HOME

Additional Information:

The £500m annual "Care Closer to Home" fund will help to deliver the vision set out in Simon Steven's Five Year Forward View for the NHS. This will mean Thames Valley as a whole will benefit from £16m of new investment per year. Plans include:

• GP surgeries working together to provide care traditionally given in hospitals such as X rays and other diagnostic tests and procedures, so people don't have to travel into hospital.
• Joined up organisations involving hospitals, GPs, mental health and community services. These will make it easier for patients to get the right care, at the right time, in the right place.
• Better access to GP surgeries by getting GPs to work together in 'federations' to resource weekend surgery duty, having more surgeries nearer A&E departments, having more chemists next to surgeries, and additional appointments being made available via email and skype.
• More use of social prescribing so that people are helped to benefit from social activities like fishing or cookery clubs, or to do exercise or get access to nature.
• Better health care in care homes so older people do not need to go into hospital unnecessarily and can get discharged from hospital more easily.
• Patients will get more control over their care with shared budgets for their health and care needs.

Contacts:

George Fussey, Parliamentary Candidate, Liberal Democrats - Windsor Constituency

george.fussey@windsorlibdems.org.uk 07834 - 245503