Royal College of Surgeons welcomes Budget for older patients

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond, has delivered the Budget. Responding to his announcements, Miss Clare Marx, President of the Royal College of Surgeons said:

“Older patients are the winners in today’s Budget which provides an important boost to plans to improve care in the community.

“The elderly have been badly affected by problems in social care, often unable to leave hospital wards because of a lack of care available to them in their local community. It is vitally important that the social care funding announced today is targeted to help patients avoid unnecessary admissions or stays in hospital. This would then help to make more beds available for all patients needing surgery and other treatment.

“The RCS has called for more infrastructure money to be available in the NHS. The extra money today takes us a step closer to realising long-awaited changes to help patients, particularly better out-of-hospital care. NHS England’s recent announcement that any service changes need to meet a test to avoid hospitals bed closures is also welcome.

“As the Government has recognised, the additional funding announced today is only a short-term sticking plaster and we still need a proper look at how to put our social care services on a sustainable footing. We look forward to contributing to the announced reviews on social care and NHS infrastructure spending. It is also important that a similar review is urgently undertaken for the whole NHS – it is becoming increasingly clear that current funding levels cannot meet the high standards of care our patients deserve.”

Notes to editors

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, which exists to advance surgical standards and improve patient care.

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