Transforming Your Care update
agendaNi summarises some of the new services being offered as part of the reform programme.
A range of new services are helping to keep older people out of hospital as part of the Transforming Your Care programme. The 17 integrated care partnerships – a key part of the reforms – act as formal networks of health and care professionals, patients, social care clients, and carers. In the first instance, the ICPs gathered information so that they could review the patients’ experiences and how services are organised in their areas. The information has been analysed and, in some cases, used to deliver new ways of caring for older people.
In the Northern area, a patient who needs more support but not necessarily an emergency admission to hospital can be referred by their GP to a ‘rapid response nursing and social support service’.
A patient will ideally receive this service within one hour. Between November 2013 and March 2014, there were 33 patient referrals to the service and an acute hospital admission was then required in only four cases. Similar services are also due to be launched in the South Eastern, Southern and Belfast areas by January 2015, depending on the amount of funding that is available.
Health professionals in the Southern area have received funding to extend their ‘dementia on-call service’ to 5-8pm on weekdays. Relatives and carers will therefore be able to receive advice by telephone more easily (especially if they are working during the day) and a call-out service will help to reduce hospital admissions.
‘Fully integrated falls prevention services’ are being developed in the Western and South Eastern areas. This means drawing up plans to reduce the risk of falling e.g. through more podiatry assessments, identifying obstructions in the home and review medicines that affect a person’s alertness or balance.
Health and Social Care Board Chairman Ian Clements described the ICP approach as “an essential part of improving communication and constructive working … not only in terms of those delivering services but for people receiving services.” He expected ICPs to deliver better outcomes as the different parts of the system would work more closely to prevent illness, help more people to live independently at home, and help them to receive care as close to home as possible.
Over the last six months, the Health and Social Care Board has also continued to roll out reablement and self-directed support. The latter service, pioneered in Scotland last year, allows people to choose how their social care is provided and gives them responsibility for allocating their individual care budget. The board has also invested in more short breaks for carers and is currently evaluating the effectiveness of those breaks.
Officials expect to see more progress on Transforming Your Care over the next year. The integrated care partnerships will draw up ‘care pathways’ which will determine how to provide the best treatment for:
• stroke survivors;
• people with respiratory conditions;
• diabetics; and
• frail older people.
By April 2015, the board plans to publish a new strategy for domiciliary care and a new online portal where people can find official health and social care information in one place. Health and social care trusts will also publish their assessments of the needs of older people in their areas and their proposals for the future of statutory residential care homes.
The Health and Social Care Board also predicts that more older people will take up carers’ assessments and self-directed support. It will therefore be publicising the range of services available for older people and also highlighting how it hopes to improve those services over the coming years.
