Local MP Rebecca Pow meets with Social Care Minister & Chairman of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Local MP Rebecca Pow met with Social Care Minister, Helen Whately MP and Chairman of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Colin Drummond, in Westminster to highlight the importance of unblocking beds in Musgrove Park Hospital and to ensure a clear pipeline of provision within the county to move those who are ready to be discharged back into the community with suitable care packages.
Local MP Rebecca Pow said:
“£2million of government funding dedicated to Somerset County Council to help unblock hospital beds must help deliver the pipeline of provision we need out in the community. Together with the Chair of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we called for greater transparency from the local authority to demonstrate actions and targets for delivery. I was very pleased to hear that the Minister will be requiring the local authority to report back on the pipeline of transfers to social care and similarly the NHS will be reporting on discharges to the local authority. We also updated the Minister on progress with the legal merger of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. This is the first trust of its kind and will be the largest and most diverse in the country.”
Chair of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Colin Drummond, OBE, DL, said:
“Delayed discharges are not good for the patients concerned and are a block to progress on hospital waiting lists and response times. The delays can be due to issues in social care or within the NHS. I welcome the Minister’s identification of clear targets and responsibilities for Councils and NHS respectively to address the situation.”
