New funding promised for accident and emergency departments

The government has announced that it will be providing 500 million pounds to improve accident and emergency care over the next two years.

Money will be spent primarily on departments identified as being under the most pressure and will be targeted at pinch points in local services, with the aim of relieving the burden on hospitals ahead of the coming winter.

Hospitals have put forward a series of proposals that show how this funding could improve their services, including by appointing hospital specialists in charge of joining up services for the elderly and consultant reviews of all ambulance arrivals in accident and emergency.

This comes at a time when more than one million more people are visiting accident and emergency departments compared to three years ago.

Prime minister David Cameron said: "By acting now, we can ensure doctors, nurses and NHS staff have the support they need and patients are not left facing excessive waits for treatment."

This comes after the Care Quality Commission warned that unsustainable pressures are currently undermining the stability of NHS accident and emergency services.