NHS health and social care pilots begin
pharmafile | April 3, 2009 | News story | |Â Â NHSÂ
A raft of pilot schemes designed to bridge gaps between health and social care services started this week.
The nationwide schemes have £4 million in funding and cover local health needs such as dementia, substance misuse, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and end of life care.
The Department of Health whittled the original 100 applications for funding down to 16 in locations ranging from Sunderland to the Isles of Scilly.
"This programme provides an opportunity for clinicians – working closely with the community more widely – to use their 'on the ground' knowledge to design services that are flexible, personalised and seamless," said health minister Ben Bradshaw.
The pilots will run for two years and are a mixture of partnerships, new systems and care pathways that span primary, community, secondary and social care.
Collaboration between GPs, public sector organisations and volunteer services are features of several plans.
The benefits of different models of care will be assessed and the government says it will identify best practice for wider use.
The pilot schemes
NHS Cumbria will look at helping patients with chronic diseases to manage their own care, while Durham Dales Integrated Care Organisation targets the reduction of health inequalities in its rural population.
Three of the schemes focus on the elderly: Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT will be exploring a new model for delivering care for older people with dementia.
Church View Medical Practice in Sunderland is seeking to improve quality of care and experience of services for old people.
And Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly PCT is setting up a GP-led memory clinic supported by a team of practice-based case managers and dementia care advisers to allow patients to live independently for longer.
"I want to see what lessons can be learnt from them in improving care for older people around the country," said care services minister Phil Hope.
All schemes will be evaluated against measures including impact on health outcomes and service user satisfaction.
The full list of winners is:
Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT
Cambridge Assura Limited Liability Partnership
Church View Medical Practice, Sunderland NHS Cumbria
Durham Dales Integrated Care Organisation
Nene Commissioning Community Interest Company
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT
NHS Norfolk and Norfolk County Council
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
North Cornwall Practice-Based Commissioning Group
Principia – Partners in Health, Nottinghamshire
NHS Tameside and Glossop
Torbay Care Trust
Tower Hamlets PCT
Wakefield Integrated Substance Misuse Service
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