People need health and social care services that are more joined-up and person-centred, says CQC
Services have steadily improved overall but rising demand and pressure on finances make reform essential, says new regulator
The Care Quality Commission applauded overall improvements over recent years, as it published its first annual report to parliament on the state of health care and adult social care in England.
But it cautioned that some services were lagging behind the pack and that there were areas of common concern across health and social care, notably keeping people safe and staff training.
CQC pointed out that services would be operating in a different environment in future, with pressure on finances adding to continuing increases in demand and rising expectations. It said that the next big challenge for health and social care is to accelerate efforts to make services more joined up and centred around people’s needs.
Its report argues that joining up health and social care can deliver both better care and greater efficiency.
It calls for investment in services that maintain people’s independence, by reducing the need for expensive hospital and residential care. For example, up to £2 billion could be saved annually from hospital budgets if each area were able to reduce the number of older people admitted repeatedly to hospital in an emergency, and the number of days these people spend in hospital, to the levels seen in the best performing areas of the country.
Drawing on the richest sources of information available, this is the first time that an independent regulator has looked simultaneously across both the health and social care sectors.
CQC also published a five-year strategic plan today, which sets out what it wants to achieve for people using health and social care services, and how it will go about it.
CQC’s interim chair, Dame Jo Williams, said: “Overall, there have been steady improvements and it is really important to celebrate that. Successes have come in areas that really matter to people such as reducing hospital infection rates and helping people live independently at home. But we are mindful of the fact that pockets of poor practice remain. This must be addressed.
Turning to the future, Williams said: “We all know that the context is changing. Trends such as increasing demand and rising expectations will be exacerbated by pressure on finances. That means we cannot go on as we are. To cope, we need some radical changes in the way that we organise and deliver services.
“This means shifting the culture away from a one-size-fits-all approach to care that puts the needs of individuals and carers at the centre of everything. A key part of this will involve helping people maintain their independence and health.”
She added: “We hope providers and commissioners of services will seize on the information we are making available and use it to improve care for the people using their services.”
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