Joining up health and social care would ‘double’ resources
Health and social care support services in London should be more joined up to save time and money as well as improve patient care, new research by London Councils shows today.
Under the government’s Health and Social Care Bill, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which currently commission health services, will be abolished in April 2013. Strategic health authorities – such as NHS London – which operate on a regional basis will also be scrapped.
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGS), made up of GPs and other health professionals, will be responsible for most local purchasing of health services. Responsibility for public health will transfer to local government. Local authorities will also be tasked with establishing Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs), with membership including CCGs, councillors and directors of public health, amongst others.
The newly created Clinical Commissioning Groups will be required to buy in support to help them to carry out their new roles planning health care and purchasing health services for their population. This includes support with tasks such as identifying gaps in health provision, shaping new services and back office functions such as IT and financial management.
The government has indicated that CCGs will receive £25 per head of their population to pay for these services.
London Councils, the organisation which represents the capital’s 33 local authorities, commissioned research to establish how much on average boroughs currently spend on these kinds of activities to support commissioning of social care services for children and adults – and public health.
The report*: Improving Health and Social Care in London is published today.
It includes data provided by six inner and outer London boroughs which shows that they spend an average of £25 per head on commissioning support services for adult social care, children’s services and public health.
The report finds that joining up support services for health and social care services could mean that there is as much as £50 per head available which can be used to support local planning and decision making.
It would also mean that the boroughs and newly formed CCGs would not waste public money and time replicating work.
Colin Barrow, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Services on London Councils, said: “Integrating health and social care will be vital for tackling the capital’s health challenges such as an ageing population and the significant number of people with long term conditions. Looking at where we might be able to share support services for commissioning between CCGs and local government will be one way of embedding joined up working into the new system.”
*A copy of the report is available online .
