BOLTON is being given a £426,355 injection of funding to help ease pressure on its health services.

The council is investing the funds from its Improved Better Care Fund (IBCF) into providing more staff.

Funding comes as the hospital braces itself for the winter season.

From this month onwards the hospital and community services face more challenges as an increase in ill health puts extra pressures on the system.

At the monthly meeting of the NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) John Daly, director of people at the council, told the board how social care services were also under pressure.

He said: “Demand for social care has grown by 17 per cent at the front door and demand right across the board in adult services has grown by six per cent.

“Right now the demand for services is really high.”

As part of a join effort with the CCG and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust to improve care for patients, the council has sought additional funds from the (IBCF).

Of that money, £262,000 will go towards recruiting up to 16 additional home care assistants and £142,000 will be used to recruit three more social work practitioners into the trust’s discharge team to help improve the flow of people out of Royal Bolton Hospital.

One of those practitioners will support people who are being treated for mental health related issues.

The remainder of the money will employ someone full-time in business support.

The money taken from the fund will be replaced by council reserves.

Mr Daly also highlighted that Bolton had been rated the best in Manchester for care of the frail elderly by the directors of Adult Social Services North West.

Trust chief operating officer Andy Ennis reported on the joint plans to tackle the winter period.

Challenges include improving waiting times in A&E and a forecast of being 50 qualified nurses short across the hospital in the coming months.

He added: “Winter doesn’t seem to have gone. It is all year round. A third of our patients don’t come from Bolton but from surrounding areas but I think people choose to come here because we are accessible.

“Drug and alcohol attendance is also significantly high in Bolton and we need the capacity in the services for that.

“It’s not all plain sailing and there are some risks. If we get the flu all bets are off. The threat of the flu from Australia seems to have dissipated and it is not believed to be reaching our shores. But last year we had no big outbreak of flu and if we did get one now it would be a challenge.”