NHS facing ‘more challenging’ winter than normal, warns health secretary

Jordan Pettitt/the Press Association

By Christopher McKeon, Press Association

The NHS faces a more challenging winter than normal, the health secretary has warned as she announced a £140 million boost for urgent care in England.

Yvette Cooper said the money would help increase capacity, and NHS has been preparing since July to deal with the impact of seasonal illnesses.

She said: “Winter will be more challenging for our NHS this year, after such a heavy summer.

“That’s why we have been preparing early and investing in extra urgent care capacity to help get patients the care they need.”

The money will be spent on 14 schemes across the country, including new urgent care centres, ambulance fleets and upgrades to emergency departments (EDs).

It comes after a summer of extreme heat placed additional strain on the NHS. Almost 7.3 million people attended EDs between June and August, the highest figure for a summer period.

In September, experts warned of a “twin crisis” facing the NHS with the impact of record temperatures in the summer combining with seasonal winter illnesses such as flu and norovirus.