BOLTON has welcomed a £100 million investment which will help weed out people who should not be at A&E.

The investment was announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond in his spring budget.

It will fund the placement of GPs in A&E departments to turn away people who do not require urgent treatment in order to help crack down on hospital overcrowding.

The Royal Bolton Hospital is one of the first A&E departments in the country to play host to a GP and nurse practitioner in its triage - helping to turn away more than 2,000 unnecessary visitors.

It will now receive a share of the capital funding which will support the role out of the scheme nationwide. Dr Wirin Bhatiani, chairman of NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We welcome this additional funding to support A&E departments and ensure patients are seen by the right health professional for their needs.

“Following a scheme introduced by NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, GPs have been located at our local A&E department for some months now.

“Initial evaluation of this new way of working is positive and we are currently considering how this can be developed further.

“It is providing valuable support to hard working A&E staff and allowing them to focus on those patients who really need to be there”

The scheme was launched in Bolton in December following a successful pilot.

From the middle of December to the end of February, 2,401 patients with minor health problems were directed away from A&E and assessed by a GP.

Most were given advice on how they could care for themselves at home or told to make an appointment at their own GP practice.

The NHS faced increased pressures this winter as one in two hospitals issued emergency alerts indicating they were unable to cope.

While no alert was issued at Bolton, it saw an increase in admissions due to the number of seriously ill patients throughout December and January.

In this time, on average, around 35 patients with minor health problems were directed from A&E triage to other services.

These services include GP practices and pharmacists.

The £100 million pledged is earmarked to be spent before next winter.

Mr Hammond announced the extra cash for A&E alongside an additional £2 billion to be spent on social care over the next three years,

Speaking at the announcement, he said: “That is one of the two big pressures on hospitals.

“The other is inappropriate A&E attendances by people of all ages.”

“Experience has shown that onsite GP triage in A&E departments can have a significant and positive impact on A&E waiting times.”