09/02/06 - New bulletin for staff working in social care services
A new Social Care bulletin has been published specifically
for staff working in social care services to set out the key messages
from the Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community
services White Paper. It helps to interpret what the new direction for
health and social care system means for you.
The Social Care bulletin available at: www.dh.gov.uk/SocialCareBulletin
aims to make the Government's vision of more effective health and social
care services outside hospital clear and meaningful for social care
staff.
The White Paper identifies five clear areas for change:
" personalised care will be driven by better access and more funding
following the patient. NHS Walk-in Centres will also be expanded
" services will be brought closer to people's homes through investment
in community hospitals and facilities and shifting care safely away
from hospitals
" better co-ordination with local councils, improving the way information
is shared between social services and health care providers
" increased choice will be underpinned by a direct payment or care budget
for people to pay for their own home help or residential care, and PCTs
will be required to act on the findings of regular patient surveys
" prevention of illness will be targeted with several measures, including
the establishment of more healthcare teams to deliver better care across
institutional boundaries. A new NHS 'Life check' service will be introduced
and a Fitter Britain scheme will be launched as part of the build-up
to the 2012 London Olympics.
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "We have listened to the public
and Our health, our care, our say will pave the way for many changes
to the services people receive in the community. The plans will help
people to access community services throughout all stages of their lives
and in places and at times that suit them."
We would be very interested to hear what you think of the Social Care
bulletin and whether you think it would be useful to make it a regular
publication. We value your feedback so e-mail us now at socialcarebulletin@dh.gov.uk
Click
here to Download the bulletin
