Hampshire County Council approves £5m funding for Step Up Live-in Care

A SERVICE supporting people to recover at home following a stay in hospital has welcomed £5m in funding.

Hampshire County Council approved £5m in funding to continue running the program for another two years, writes Natalia Forero of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Executive lead member for adult social care and public health, Cllr Liz Fairhurst, gave the go-ahead for the implementation of the Step Up Live-in Care tender at a recent decision day meeting.

The service is based on three main pillars: Rapid Support Service (RSS), Live Care, and Short-Term Services beds, all of them allowing patients to recover and receive support at home up to 28 days after discharge from hospital.

These services were developed in 2020 in response to Covid, when local authorities were required to support rapid discharges from hospitals due to the high demand for beds.

In 2022 nearly 6,000 Hampshire residents were supported.

Cllr Fairhurst said: “I think this is a really good step forward for us. The residents will benefit enormously.”