A £1.8m Government grant is to be used to help keep the elderly out of hospital during the winter months.

Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG) has teamed-up with Epsom, Kingston and East Surrey hospitals; community care providers, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead and Elmbridge councils, the voluntary sector and Public Health England to build "year-round resilience into the local care system".

The strategy aims to make sure the healthcare system in the Surrey Downs area is prepared for spikes in activity such as elderly people going into hospital A&E departments due to cold weather.

It will bring together real-time data from 111, the ambulance service, A&Es and other sources, to manage the demand on different providers and improve the responses of agencies.

The programme aims to reduce unplanned hospital admissions for over 75s by 15 per cent.

It is the first time resilience funding has gone directly to CCGs, rather than hospitals, which means better system planning, as a whole, can be developed, according to a SDCCG spokesman.

The resilience strategy will try to manage people’s conditions at home when appropriate, and make hospitals and the transfer from hospital to home as effective as possible when people are admitted.

The Red Cross will be based within A&E departments to improve disabled access to the buildings and will also be on hand to help patients settle back at home after their hospital stay.

Other measures include providing people with winter warmer packs, local treatment and therapies and GPs carrying out more "intrusive monitoring" of patients they worry may end up going to hospital.

Earlier this year, the Government agreed to an initial £400m of funding to enhance local health services.

Today, it announced a further £300m funding - including the £1.8m for Surrey Downs has been allocated.

Dr Mark Hamilton, resilience lead for Surrey Downs CCG, said: "We've worked closely with other local CCGs to link up our plans, and I'm pleased there's been a lot of interest in Surrey Downs' work with the voluntary sector and our decision to put in a dedicated role for continuing healthcare liaison - offering care at home to patients who would otherwise be making regular trips to the hospital.

"This partnership means we're much better prepared for periods of particular demand, such as during periods of cold weather.

"My advice to residents this winter is to stay warm, get enough sleep, and to eat well.

"If you do start to feel unwell, seek help from a pharmacist or visit www.nhs.uk/asap.

"It's easy to forget that our local pharmacists can provide expert guidance, which may help prevent a trip to hospital later down to line.

"Early advice is the best advice."