07.09.12
Health and social care need ‘fundamental change’ – King’s Fund
The King’s Fund has called for a radical transformation of health and social care to cope with demographic and financial challenges.
In a new report, the health think tank calls for a focus on strategic issues rather than service preservation, encouraging new providers and innovative models of care, and decommissioning “outdated models of care.”
It says incremental changes to existing care systems will simply not be enough to deal with widening health outcome variations and increasing demand for services.
The paper, ‘Transforming the delivery of health and social care: The case for fundamental change’, is written by three of The King’s Funds leading experts: chief executive Chris Ham and his adviser Beatrice Brooke, and policy director Anna Dixon.
NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar agreed that “fundamental changes” were needed to make health and social care fit for the future, noting that this will include the closure of “much-loved local hospitals” in some areas.
Responding to the publication of The King’s Fund paper, Farrar said: “NHS leaders agree that we need to make fundamental changes to the health and social care system to make it fit for the future.
“We need to engage patients in improving and maintaining their own health, and empower and support their families and carers. We need to improve public health, and help patients with chronic disease manage their conditions through better use of new information, communication and medical technologies. And we need to better explain the importance of consolidating some specialist services into centres of excellence to improve outcomes for patients, while caring for people out of hospital when they can be better cared for in their own homes.
“Making these changes will be very challenging. In some areas much-loved local hospitals may need to change their roles or even close, and NHS managers and clinicians will have to actively involve local communities in planning and agreeing the changes that need to take place to maintain high quality care.
“These are significant changes for the NHS, and we need an open and transparent conversation with patients, the public and politicians about the best way to provide health and social care services in the future.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email us directly at [email protected]