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<p>In the autumn Budget the Government allocated £337 million available immediately,
to allow trusts to improve resilience this winter. The package includes more hospital
beds, community services, mental health services and urgent general practitioner appointments
to manage the expected rise in demand.</p><p> </p><p>The Government expects National
Health Service trusts to ensure they have the right staff, with the right skills in
place at the right time including during statutory holiday periods. The National Quality
Board for England has issued guidance to support trusts as they discharge this responsibility
through their own local processes.</p><p> </p><p>NHS Improvement issued rostering
guidance in 2016, identifying best practice in this area. The document is available
at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Rostering_Good_Practice_Guidance_Final_v2.pdf"
target="_blank">https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Rostering_Good_Practice_Guidance_Final_v2.pdf</a></p><p>
</p><p>In many cases, the Christmas holidays are the most challenging and trusts often
have additional policy to ensure that during this period additional leave is not agreed.</p><p>
</p><p>Appropriate staffing levels are a core element of the Care Quality Commission’s
registration regime and the Chief Inspector of Hospitals can also take action if hospitals
are found to be compromising patient care by not having the right number or mix of
staff on wards.</p>
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