Pilot projects pave the way to future healthcare needs
Pilot projects pave the way to future healthcare needs
By Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
April 14, 2009
All eyes will soon be on the progress of 16 innovative projects aimed at delivering community health care to meet the needs of local populations.
Sixteen primary trusts across England have been selected by the Department of Health to host an ‘Integrated Care Pilot’.
The scheme – under which projects will receive up to £250,000 of Government funding – has received little publicity since the successful bidders were unveiled.
However, it could go a long way to shaping the future of care – particularly for the elderly – well into the 21st century.
Integrated community healthcare is regarded by many professionals as the best and most cost-effective way of providing care for our ageing population.
Many of the pilot projects selected are aimed at exploring new models of delivering care for the elderly and increasing their independence.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be watching their progress with great interest – and with a view to potentially ‘aping’ the most successful models.
The care pilots, outlined in detail on the Department of Health website, include:
Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT: Exploring a new model for delivering care for older people with dementia, involving collaboration between GPs, public sector organisations and third-sector services. It aims to provide a single point of access to an integrated community team.
Church View Medical Practice, Sunderland: Improving quality of care and experience of services for the area’s population of older people. The local acute trust and GP practice will work together as an integrated organisation, and will work in partnership with the PCT provider arm, social services and the patient practice group. The pilot will aim to provide an improved, personalised experience through active management of long-term conditions.
NHS Cumbria: Exploring a new approach to helping patients with chronic diseases to manage their own care. It will be focus on increasing the collaboration between GP and patient and aim to move care into a community setting and reduce hospital admissions.
Durham Dales Integrated Care Organisation: Seven partner organisations will work together to meet the needs of a rural population, provide continuity of care and reduce health inequalities. It will explore a number of different care pathways aiming to improve planning information, move care into a community setting, increase patient/carer satisfaction and reduce hospital admissions.
Nene Commissioning CIC: Developing new models of long-term condition management to help patients remain independent for longer and have more choice in their end-of-life care. It will create personalised care plans for high-risk individuals and aim to reduce admissions to hospital.
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly PCT: Uniting primary, secondary, health and social care services by setting up a GP-led memory clinic supported by a team of practice-based case managers and dementia care advisers. It will seek to increase the number of people receiving an early diagnosis, reduce admissions to hospital and care homes and see people maintaining independent living for longer.
NHS Norfolk and Norfolk County Council: Integrating care services for the elderly. Joint working between the PCT and the County Council will identify people in need of support and then work with them to develop personalised care plans. It aims to help elderly people live fulfilling and independent lives and to form care plans that meet the needs of both patients and carers.
Torbay Care Trust: Integrating care for the elderly so that it is personalised and tailored to individual needs, secures best possible outcomes and ensures best use of resources. It will involve partner organisations across primary, secondary, social care and mental health services focusing on the whole care pathway, seeking to deliver high-quality, safe, and reliable services for patients across the spectrum of care.
Tower Hamlets PCT: Helping patients with long-term conditions to manage their own care. It will help patients make their own choices, with support from a range of diverse services and specialists locally. It will aim to improve health and well-being for patients with long-term conditions, increase uptake of services from targeted hard-to-reach groups and reduce the expected trends in long-term conditions.
The projects deservedly have been met with considerable enthusiasm in their local areas. Their success will be seen as key to meeting the needs of the elderly and other patient groups in a new era of personalised care.
Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
Roberts Consultants, specialists in developing homecare businesses
May 13th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
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