WGPlus (Archive)

A matter of concern for most people (eventually)

With millions of people in England living with more than one chronic health condition & hundreds of thousands more set to develop multiple problems in the future, new NICE guidance has been released to ensure care remains safe & of a high quality.  It focuses on the group of people most likely to be living with more than one long-term condition – older people.   It says health & social care services should work more closely together to deliver effective services and improve quality of life for those they look after.

NICE calls for care to be integrated so that better, more person-centre care can be provided for the growing number of older people with social care needs & multiple long-term conditions.  The best outcomes for older people are improved quality of life, and increased independence, choice, dignity & control. These can be achieved through coordinated care that is person-centred.

However recent reports suggest that care is often fragmented & hard to access, and that some people are being treated as a collection of conditions or symptoms rather than as a whole person.  To help tackle these issues NICE’s new guideline provides services with a framework for acting more effectively so that they can offer appropriate care to those who most need it.

Researched Links:

NICE guideline to improve quality of life for older people with multiple long-term conditions who need social care support

NICE:  Integrated care ‘critically important’ for older people with social care needs & multiple long-term conditions

IFG:  Devolution will only work if public services are reformed

Kings Fund:  Social care budget cuts damaging the NHS, latest quarterly monitoring report finds

LGA:  40% funding reduction would devastate local services & communities, councils warn

CQC:  State of Care report launched

WAO:  The Welsh public sector needs to shift its focus to maintain the independence of older people

CQC:  Work begins with Age UK encouraging people to "tell us about your care"

Patients in South Devon set to get integrated care after hospital acquisition

If NHS needs +£8bn, what do LA’s need for social care?

It’s bad enough being ill without suffering lack of good care

When it’s your own care it gets very personal

It’s like running a car; the older we get the more ‘maintenance’ we need

Hardly ‘rocket science’ so why is it taking so long

The NHS is not the only ‘care service’ with a funding ‘Black Hole’

Hospitals are too expensive for anything but specialist ‘non-mobile’ treatment

Without them Social Care & the NHS would collapse

Local direction by local leaders to boost local economies & services

Protecting the liberty of those who are less able to protect themselves

Provision of a service does not mean people know about it

Let’s hope ‘pooling’ works better for the NHS than for the euro group

Longer independent living is vital for the NHS funding ‘crisis

Evolving the NHS & Social Care will require the involvement of both providers & users

It is not so much dying that worries us, as HOW we will die

Sadly the guidance is necessary

No excuse now for sub-standard care due to ignorance of standards

Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story