On April 29, 2020, the Welsh Government announced £10m of funding for Wales’ health and social care organisations to help get those recovered from Covid-19 home sooner.
The announcement will fund new and enhanced home care packages to support patients to leave hospital for their ongoing assessment and recovery.
It will also help fund crucial community services supporting the Covid-19 response that are helping people to stay at home safely.
The £10m will help provide for:
the expansion of discharge from hospital schemes
- additional capacity within the community to care for people discharged from hospital
- maximising patients’ independence post Covid-19, including the purchasing of equipment for their home
- enhanced community-based services to reduce pressure on primary and secondary care
Made available through Regional Partnership Boards that bring together health boards, local government and the third sector, the funding will be used to build upon or extend already established models of integrated care.
Physiotherapists provide a key element of rehabilitation for patients who are recovering from the virus, and the CSP in Wales is urging Regional Partnership Boards to invest in multi disciplinary teams, including physiotherapists.
Welcoming the announcement, CSP Public Affairs and Policy Manager Calum Higgins said:
"This is a welcome investment in services which will be key in meeting rehab needs of COVID patients. It's clear that the next phase of meeting the COVID challenge will be the rehabilitation needs of COVID patients, an expected surge in patients who have not received services during the crisis, and patients who will have deconditioned while in isolation."
"It will take resources and planning to manage the large number of COVID and non-COVID patients who will need health and social care services in the coming months. This initial funding is a step in the right direction to meeting these needs as we learn more about the number and nature of patients' needs. Much of this work will be done in the community and physiotherapists should play a key part in delivery. We urge the RPBs who have received this funding to invest in physiotherapy services to deliver multi disciplinary community rehabilitation and maximise the funding's impact."
"We look forward to continuing engagement with the Welsh Government as this increased need develops."