York's MP Hugh Bayley has welcomed extra Government funding which will ease the city's bed-blocking problems this Christmas.

York will receive an extra £130,000 this winter, which comes on top of £189,000 allocated for the same purpose in September.

The money will pay for care fees for patients waiting to be discharged from York District Hospital and has also been welcomed by City of York Council, York NHS Trust and North Yorkshire Health Authority.

Last month Mr Bayley told the minister of state for health, John Hutton, how serious York's community care funding problems were and he agreed to look into it and meet the council and other authorities on December 11.

That meeting has been postponed because it appears there will be enough money for care home places this winter.

In the summer, Mr Bayley got the council and health authorities to draw up a joint bid for extra funding, which he submitted to Mr Hutton.

Mr Bayley said: "Keeping people in hospital when they are ready to move to a care home makes their lives a misery and uses up precious NHS beds which ought to be for seriously-ill patients.

Jim Crook, director of community services, said: "This money will be used to open up more places in residential care and nursing homes for people ready to leave hospital, but who are still not able to look after themselves.

"We will also be putting extra resources into providing more intermediate care which means people can receive intensive care in their own home.

"Both these measures are aimed at taking the pressure off the hospital by freeing up beds.

"But these are only one-off payments and do not alter the fact that York's standard spending assessment for social services is too low.

"While we are grateful, we will continue to work with Mr Bayley, the trust and the health authority to secure the cash we need to care for people in this city."

rebecca.gilbert@ycp.co.uk