Integrating adult health and social care services
Our ambition is that by 2018 we will have joined up and coordinated health and social care services for all adults.
The Adult Integrated Care programme has been set up to help achieve this. Between 2014 and 2018 we will be changing the way in which adult health and social care services are provided resulting in the following benefits:
| What we are doing | What the benefit will be |
|---|---|
| Joining up health and social care services | You will find your way between services and support more easily, with a quicker response to your needs |
| Improving the quality of services | You will have a more positive experience and services will be safe |
| Sharing information between services in new and better ways | You will only need to tell your story once |
| Expanding the range of locally based services | You will have a greater choice of high quality services closer to your home |
| Delivering 7-day services | Services will be accessible and quick to respond to you when you need them |
| Helping people to find the right information and advice | You will be more able to help yourself |
| Making every pound count by reducing duplication and improving value for money | Money will be used to the best effect |
| Shifting the focus of services to early intervention | Your problems will be dealt with at an early stage to stop them from getting worse |
| Targeting support to vulnerable people, their families and carers | It will be easier for everyone to remain independent for longer |
The Adult Integrated Care programme builds on our success to date in joining up services across health and social care. For example, we have already brought together a number of services which support people to gain their independence following a hospital visit.
The challenge now is to significantly increase the speed and scale at which we continue to join up health and social care, so more people benefit from changes like this.
The focus of the programme is to explore ways to support people to help themselves, prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital and develop more of the services that people want in their local communities.
This short video from The King's Fund illustrates the sort of benefits that integrated care can bring.
Who is involved in delivering the Adult Integrated Care programme?
The programme is being led by us and the NHS Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group (GPs with responsibilities for commissioning and monitoring local health services). It will also involve partnership working with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham HealthWatch and the voluntary sector.
We will be working with local residents, community groups and service users more closely over the next four years to make sure you are involved in planning changes and to support you to adapt to those changes.
There will be the chance for you to share your views and opinions over the course of the programme.
Funding for health and social care integration
The Better Care Fund is a national, locally-led policy initiative designed to accelerate the integration of health and social care.