Health and social care
Personal Health Budgets and continuing health care needs
The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced that, from October 2014, people with continuing health care needs will have the right to ask for a personal health budget (PHB).
He said: “Personal health budgets clearly fit with the future direction of a modern NHS – an NHS which focuses on quality and gives patients more control and choice”.
PHBs are currently being piloted in 70 sites across England, 20 of which are undergoing in-depth evaluation. The pilots are delivering budgets to over 1,300 people with a range of health care needs. These include long-term illnesses, mental health problems and end of life care, as well as people with continuing health care needs. Early reports indicate that the pilots have achieved positive outcomes for individuals. The pilots will run until October 2012, following which the final evaluation report will be published.
Mr Lansley’s announcement means that people with continuing health care needs will be the first group to be entitled to ask for a PHB. However, depending on the evaluation of the pilots, it is expected that PHB’s will be rolled out to a much wider section of NHS users.
What are the implications of PHB’s for the housing with care and support sector?
Look out for Richard Corkhill’s article in the November issue of the Sitra bulletin.
English Primary Care Trust clusters by local authority
A number of Sitra members have asked us for information about their local Primary Care Trust Clusters. This is because they want to know who they need talk to about commissioning of PCT funded services, as budgets are devolved to Clinical Commissioning Groups.
We have collected information on each PCT cluster in England, arranged by the Strategic Health Authority in which they are located. It includes key contact details and the name of the cluster Chief Executive.
Download English Primary Care Trust Clusters by Strategic Health Authority (pdf)
You may also wish to refer to the Department of Health website where you will find details of all of the Pathfinder Clinical Commissioning Groups. We understand this list will be updated regularly as new Groups are established.
Law Commission publish report on Adult Social Care law
The Law Commission published a report on 11 May which recommends far reaching changes to social care law.
Under their proposals, older people, disabled people, those with mental health problems and carers would, for the first time, be clear about their legal rights to care and support services. And local councils across England and Wales would have clear and concise rules to govern when they must provide services.
Practical Mental Health Commissioning: A framework for local authority and NHS commissioners of mental health and wellbeing services
The Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health (JCP-MH) is a new collaboration between leading organisations with an interest in mental health and learning disabilities, working with the Royal College of General Practitioners and their Centre for Commissioning.
The JCP-MH also builds upon the National Mental Health Development Unit's previous work on commissioning and mental health.
It has published a new framework for practical mental health commissioning in March 2011.
Download the framework (pdf)
Commissioning community public health services
Providers in London will be interested to hear that LVSC have been commissioned to develop a database of voluntary sector organisations in London who provide alcohol related public health services.The project has two aims:
- To enable GP and Local Authority commissioners to understand what voluntary organisations provide when commissioning public health services
- To support commissioner better address needs by identifying gaps in current provision and development opportunities for voluntary organisations.
Transparency in outcomes: a framework for adult social care
Alongside the Social Care Vision, the Department of Health has launched Transparency in Outcomes: a framework for adult social care – a consultation on a new strategic approach to quality and outcomes in adult social care.
The consultation envisages an enabling framework which places outcomes at the heart of social care, improves quality in services, and empowers citizens to hold their councils to account for the services they provide.
This consultation closed on 9 February 2011. Find out more on the DH website.
Read Sitra's response to the consultation here.
No Health without Mental Health
The cross-Government Mental Health Outcomes Strategy was launched on 2 February.
Health and housing: Keeping the conversation going
Sitra and the National Housing Federation held a series of nine events across the country during November, December 2010 and January 2011. The events were designed to bring together housing and health professionals giving them an opportunity to maintain their dialogue about working together effectively, promoting personalisation and exploring good practice in joint working.
Find out more
Live Q&A: How can health and housing help each other?
The healthcare landscape is changing from PCTs to GP consortia. Sitra's CEO, Vic Rayner, took part in a live Guardian Q&A on 31 January 2011, which looked at the opportunities for housing and discussed why the two sectors need to work more closely.
You can look at the comments left during the discuss on the Guardian website.
Resources
Health and housing
How to develop quality housing and health partnerships, CIH, March 2012
The Chartered Institute for Housing and Foundations have produced a guide about how housing professionals can work effectively with health colleagues.
Making creative use of NHS estate, One Support, January 2012
One Housing Group held a roundtable at the Kings Fund to discuss how housing, care and support can creatively use NHS estates. This report draws together these discussions.
Better Housing, Better Health in Leeds: Cost-benefit analysis of improving living conditions
This report by Sheffield Hallam University, commissioned by Leeds City Council sets out the extent to which poor housing impacts on health and the wider costs to the Leeds economy.
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Postnote on health and housing, January 2011
Mental health
Mental health and housing: NMHDU resources for commissioners and providers. March 2011
NMHDU commissioned a series of papers to define the new relationships needed between NHS organisations and providers of housing and housing-related support, to ensure that housing is cemented in the new NHS.
