HEALTH bosses have decided how to share out the extra cash granted to beat bed-blocking this winter.

Bury and Rochdale Health Authority have got £1.1 million of the £300 million extra NHS funding announced last month by health secretary Frank Dobson.

Bury will get £454,000 of this, and share in £238,000 to be spent on joint projects across both boroughs.

Locally the cash will be spent in two main areas:

Another 40 places in nursing homes or other residential for patients now in hospital.

A new discharge lounge to be set up next to the Outpatients Department at Bury General to oversee the release of patients being allowed home.

There will also be four major schemes running across Bury and Rochdale.

An extension of the rapid response care service providing care for people in their own homes. This will either prevent hospital admission or speed up discharge from hospital.

A new emergency information telephone line operated by Greater Manchester Ambulance Service from January.

Extra surgery to cut waiting lists

More emergency ambulances in use in the busy winter months.

Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of the health authority, said: "We are confident that this extra money as well as the schemes and initiatives that have been put into place will provide an improved service for patients in Bury in a variety of ways this winter."

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