Integrated Working

1227 Words5 Pages
Integrated working is about creating a personal care plan for every person within the NHS. This allows practitioners and health professionals to bring their services together and cut unnecessary periods of waiting or wasted time. It is a more effective and thorough method of care. Integrated working is at the centre of making a real difference to the lives of children, young people, and their families (Gov.uk, 2008). If healthcare needs are not appropriately addressed, the consequences for both patients and the healthcare system could be severe. The failure to appropriately manage disease often leads to worsening patient health; the failure to provide patients with carefully co-ordinated care can allow small problems to escalate into medical…show more content…
This would possibly work, but they would always have to make sure all records were kept up-to-date, and patients received regular assessments to ensure that information in the care plans were correct and not out of date. Integrated care brings different healthcare professional together so that they are all involved in the patients care, so that the patient receives a consistent and co-ordinated standard of care, looking at their overall well-being rather than single episodes of treatment. This should be more efficient, higher quality and control costs. A service user quoted; “I can plan my care with people who work together to understand me and my carer(s), allowing me control and bringing together services to achieve the outcomes important to me.” (Integrated Care Working Group, 2015). NHS England, signed up to a series of commitments on how they will support local areas in delivering integrated care In May 2013 (England, 2015). 14 different areas are currently using the integrated working system. Some examples are; Barnsley, Leeds, Worcestershire and…show more content…
They have twelve health and social care teams’ co-ordinating care for older people with long-term conditions. The opening of a new joint recovery centre offering rehabilitative care has already prevented hospital admissions and promoted independence, and saw a 50% reduction in the length of hospital stays in first month of it opening (England, 2013). Worcestershire NHS Trust have a well-connected program that brings together all the organisations together, with the aim to join up and co-ordinate health and care for patients and to support them to recover quickly from illnesses and make sure that treatments are received in the most appropriated place. They have done this in the hope that they will reduce the hospital admissions, and the length of time patients need to stay in hospital (England, 2013). The Southend NHS Trust claim that they are making practical, ground level changes that will have a real impact of the lives of their local people. Improvements have been made to the way services are commissioned and contracted, so that they can achieve better value for money and focus on supporting the frail elderly and those with long term conditions. By 2016 Southend hope to have better integrated services so that service users can get access to them easier and share information and knowledge between partners far more effectively (England,

More about Integrated Working

Open Document