Cornwall Council's drug and alcohol action team has secured extra funding to help people with dependency issues, in an effort to reduce hospital admissions.

The team have been successful in their bid for £68,000 from the Government's community fund, which will provide two more assertive outreach workers.

These workers will help 50 of the most frequent attenders at the Royal Cornwall Hospital A&E department through drug and alcohol misuse, and those who also have a mental health diagnosis.

By effectively working with a variety of other services and partners it's hoped that 30 of the identified people can be engaged into long term sustainable rehabilitation.

Admission avoidance for high risk groups is a priority within the local sustainability and transformation plan, which identifies a need for assertive outreach.

Kim Hager, joint commissioning manager for the drug and alcohol action team, said: “These funds will increase our ability to engage vulnerable adults who may be homeless, rough sleeping, street drinking and repeatedly being admitted into hospital and will form part of the multi-agency approach that the council and community safety partnership is taking.

“By all services working jointly together and reducing the opportunities for people to fall through the gaps, we will see a reduction in costs for the NHS and social care, as well as providing a better service for the most vulnerable people in our society.”