The Government has pledged to develop a digital platform to share up-to-date medical information between NHS and care staff to speed up and improve care in both hospital and the home.
The reforms have promised to fully digitise all care providers by the end of the Parliament and to join up systems so NHS and care staff have access to real-time social care, GP and hospital data.
This instant access to the latest information, including when someone last took their medication, means individuals will not need to repeat information about their care needs multiple times and care staff will avoid wasting time trying to find information about the people they care for.
It also means clinicians will have access to information about someone’s recent care history to help them determine the best treatment for their needs.
Commenting on the announcement, NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: ‘Social care has a huge impact on the NHS, with thousands of people in hospitals who are medically fit for discharge the current strain the sector is under has significant consequences for both NHS productivity and performance, so we hope this vital action plan and commitment to create a national care service will both help better support people and ease pressure on hospital wards.‘
Meeting current and future needs
The Government also announced an independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock. This will set out recommendations for ‘how to rebuild’ the adult social care system to meet current and future needs of the population.
The first phase of the commission will identify the critical issues and set out recommendations for improvement in the medium term. It will report in 2026. The second phase will look at longer-term reform and will report in 2028.
Health secretary, Wes Streeting, said the investment and reforms ‘will help to modernise social care, get it working more closely with the NHS, and help deliver our Plan for Change.’
He added however that longer term action was needed to meet the demands of care in the future.
He said: ‘The independent commission will work to build a national consensus around a new national care service able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century.
‘I have written to opposition parties to invite them to take part in the commission’s work, and asked Baroness Louise Casey to build a cross-party consensus, to ensure the national care service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years.’
‘Welcome commitments’
In response to the announcement, the chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran MP, said: ‘This announcement from the Government on a commission to look at social care is welcome, however this cannot be an exercise in kicking the can down the road. We urge bravery and courage from the Government and all political parties to work together to act boldly and urgently.
‘We are concerned that any further delay perpetuates the hardship for individuals and their families, as well as the cost to the NHS and local authorities.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the announcement set out some ‘welcome commitments’.
‘The Government’s ambition to find a long-term solution for social care is commendable and we urge all parties to work together to create a consensus for action,’ he said. ‘We know that significant change will require difficult choices, but the pressure on social care and impact on the NHS means that governments can no longer kick the can further down the road.
‘But while we wait for the commission to report back it seems likely that the Government may need to provide further short-term support for the social care sector – particularly to break the continued cycle of difficult winters the health and care sectors have experienced.’
Nuffield Trust deputy director of policy, Natasha Curry, added: ‘We welcome the additional funding and the measures designed to support the sector in the shorter term. But we remain concerned that this is still insufficient given the immense financial pressure that the sector is under.‘
A version of this article was originally published by our sister publication Healthcare Leader.
