South Tees NHS Foundation Trust has received a funding boost to help achieve the Conservatives priority of cutting NHS waiting lists.
The local trust has received government funding as part of both a £250 million scheme to increase capacity and a £50 million scheme to bring new ambulance hubs to increase efficiency.
As a result of the funding the trust will receive a share of 900 new beds, new assessment areas in A&E and two new ambulance bays.
These measures will support the NHS’s recovery from the pandemic, and ensure that patients receive the care they need, when they need it.
Alongside this, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will put the NHS on a sustainable footing by delivering the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruiting and retaining hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years.
Patients are already seeing improvements as a result of the urgent and emergency care recovery plan, backed by record funding - with average Category 2 ambulance response times down by 27 minutes on July last year, and down by 60 minutes on the peak of winter pressures seen in December 2022.
James Cook Hospital has already benefited from a hospital bay, and feedback from Trusts suggests that 1,000 patients have already benefitted from the ambulance hubs so far.
Matt Vickers MP said:
“Our local hospitals and dedicated workforce have been under enormous pressures following the pandemic.
“Thankfully, now we are beginning to see progress towards shorter waiting times for appointments, for beds and shorter emergency response times.
“I’m grateful for this Government funding, which will go towards improving the efficiency and streamlining responses between teams at South Tees NHS Trust.
“We are also soon to see the impact of the new Diagnostic Hub, which will speed up response times for diagnostic checks, and free up appointment spaces in North Tees, James Cook and South Tees Hospitals.”
