Partnership for Change publishes Connected Care report
A new report calls for patient experience and care co-ordination to be central to any future plans for the NHS and to be incorporated into the 10 Year Health Plan. Connected Care: Transforming Care Co-ordination shares feedback from patients whose frustrations with the NHS have been borne out of poorly co-ordinated care. Patients report frequently needing to retell their stories, chase up referrals and advocate for themselves in a convoluted system.
The report is published by Partnership for Change – a collaboration of 10 patient groups, brought together and funded by PIF partner Pfizer. The partnership includes PIF members The Migraine Trust, Kidney Care UK, Blood Cancer UK and Meningitis Now.
Deepening health inequalities
The report says poor care co-ordination is an endemic issue affecting all patient communities represented by the report authors.
Outlining the impact of a lack of co-ordination, it says: "As a group of charities covering a range of health conditions, we are in a strong position to see the common challenges that affect all of our patient communities. Across all our engagement with those communities, the range of challenges that our patients face commonly stem from one underlying issue – poor co-ordination of care.
"This lack of care co-ordination means that our patients have to be their own advocates, and attempt to navigate a complex, disjointed care system for themselves. The harder it is to navigate this system, the more likely it is that patients won’t get the right outcomes, deepening health inequalities."
The report includes case studies highlighting both the issues caused by poor continuity of care and successful patient care initiatives.
Recommendations
The report says action taken as part of the new NHS 10 year plan must:
- Measure patient experience and act on the data.
- Make communication between healthcare professionals and patients simpler, quicker, and more efficient.
- Proactively build a culture of collaboration.
- Take a holistic approach to care for long-term conditions.