The government has said they will award an extra £3.5bn in annual funding for primary and community care by 2023/24, as part of the funding increase for the NHS announced earlier this year.

Theresa May, Prime Minister, has said the extra funding will be used to ensure that more patients can be care for at home which should reduce ‘needless’ hospital admissions.

The money will help to fund 24-hour community-based rapid response teams made up of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists to provide urgent care and support for patients better treated at home than hospital.

Theresa May said: “Too often people end up in hospital not because it’s the best place to meet their needs but because the support that would allow them to be treated or recover in their own home just isn’t available.

“Many of us might assume that hospital is the safest place to be – but in reality, many patients would be much better off being cared for in the community. And the longer a patient stays in hospital the more it costs the NHS and the more pressure is put on its hardworking staff. This needs to change.”

The funding will also go on assigning healthcare professionals to care homes, so they can identify individual residents’ needs to provide tailored care and treatment.