Norman Lamb calls for more coordinated care in the UK

The government called for healthcare and community care to become more coordinated this month in a bid to stop people falling through gaps in the system of care in the UK. The Department of Health made a statement earlier in May which will hopefully mean that more people are able to live independently at home, with the help of mobility aids such as straight stairlifts and a supportive care system.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb unveiled plans this month which aim to make the system of health and social care in the UK more coordinated, putting an end to the current system which often sees patients being passed around from one department to another. Disjointed support from the care system results in support that doesn't fully suit the needs of people, and some people slip through the gaps in particularly bad cases.

Cases such as this have highlighted the need for a more coordinated care service, and a recent study also showed that 32% of bereaved people believe that hospitals, GPs and other care services did not work well together. Norman Lamb has now pledged to achieve more "joined up" healthcare which truly puts the needs of patients first.

Plans were published recently which outline how the government hopes to achieve this and the ambition is for coordinated care to become the standard by 2018. Various projects are due to be implemented in 2015 across the country and the first "pioneer" areas will be named in September 2013. Change for the better is hoped to come about as quickly as possible and a number of innovative and practical approaches will be expected to be implemented soon.

Some of the common occurrences that health and social care professionals will be hoping to avoid include people encountering a new service and having to re-tell their story each time, people not getting the help they need because different parts of the system do not share information and home visits being scheduled at a time which does not fit in with patient requirements.

On top of this, many older people are being discharged from hospital to return to homes that aren't set up for their needs. For instance, a lack of a reclining chair could result in an older person falling and hurting themselves further after having a hip operation, bringing them back into hospital once again. This new approach to healthcare will hopefully reduce the number of readmissions, which are an unnecessary strain on hospital resources.

Norman Lamb announced that people "want the best care" and this is what he is hoping to achieve with this new government initiative. If implemented correctly, not only will social care improve in the UK, but billions of pounds could also be saved too.

Image Credit: N_LambMP01 (commons.wikimedia.org)