Title of driver: Transforming Primary Care: Safe, Proactive, Personalised Care for Those Who Need it Most
Source: Department of Health and NHS England
Publication format: PDF
Date of publication: April 2014
Summary of driver:
‘Transforming Primary Care’ sets out plans to improve primary care services for older people and those with long-term conditions, providing personalised and pro-active care.
All people aged 75 and over will have a named GP, and services will be coordinated around the patient by improved communication with different teams e.g. A&E, care homes, mental health etc.
From September 2014, the Proactive Care Programme plans to offer 800,000 people with the most complex needs a personalised programme of care and support by their GP. Patients will also be supported to take control of their own care through technology. The Better Care Fund will support the integration of health and care services.
By 2020 an additional 10,000 primary and community health and care professionals will be in place to support the shift in care, and some of this be through return to practice programmes.
There will be better recognition of the role of carers, and the Care Bill will make it mandatory for local authorities to assess their needs for support.
There will be a revised training programme for GPs, to include an emphasis on working in teams, and care of older people. Post-graduate training for nurses working will older people will be developed, and Care Certificates will be introduced for health care assistants and social care support workers.
Key features of driver:
- More focus on out-of-hospital care
- Better integration of primary and community health services, acute care, mental health and social care
- Increased training and education to support the needs of the elderly and those with complex health needs
Primary audience: Commissioners, primary and community practitioners, Health Education England
Impact on library policy/practice:
As staff move across traditional boundaries, there needs to be recognition of the need to fund libraries to support staff working in or across all the relevant organisations, including social care.
There could be impacts on funding from the acute sector if there is a major shift to primary and community care.
There may be opportunities to market ourselves as being able to support primary and community staff undergoing training to support older people and those with complex needs, and also to support healthcare assistants and support workers undertaking the Care Certificate.
If we are to increase the level of service we provide to staff working off-site, we may need to look at how these services are delivered, such as using the changes in copyright law to make requesting articles easier. We also to consider whether technology can help us deliver services remotely, for example using screen sharing software to provide assistance accessing online resources, or increasing the availability of ebooks that can be downloaded to mobile devices.
Date last updated: June 2014
Due for review: June 2015
Group member responsible: JC
Tagged: National policy, Primary care, White paper, Workforce