'Joined-up approach' needed for elderly care

8^th February 2011 - Elderly people in England are being let down by fragmented care services, according to an influential group of MPs.

The population is growing older, putting more pressure on the care system.

'Pass the parcel'

The funding for care in the NHS, social care and social housing comes from different sources - so different ways to apply and different forms to fill-out.

"This report is latest in a long line of reports which have stressed the importance of joined up services," says the Health Committee chair Stephen Dorrell in a statement. "It is impossible to deliver either high quality or efficient services when the patient is passed like a parcel from one part of the system to another, without any serious attempt to look at their needs in the round."

'No silver bullet'

Reacting to the report in a statement, care services minister Paul Burstow says: "Integrated care should be the norm. That's why we asked the NHS Future Forum to specifically work on this issue. They told us there is no single silver bullet when it comes to integration. What we have already done and continue to do is create the legal and financial conditions for more integration. The Committee's report is an important contribution to the debate."

Reaction

Several health organisations have issued statements reacting to the report.

Dr Linda Patterson, clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians, agrees that, "older people are being let down by fragmented care services."

"If there were better integration of health and social care services, people would be able to stay as long as possible in their own homes, living productive independent lives."

Age UK charity director General Michelle Mitchell says: "This report is very important because it not only sets out a compelling case for change, it also shows how to bring about the much improved social care system we all want to see."

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society says: "This report reiterates the need for a long-overdue overhaul of the crumbling system of care.

"People with dementia are some of the hardest hit by existing failures. They often require health and social care - from help with everyday tasks such as washing, eating and dressing, to medication. Integrating the composite parts of the existing system is vital."

Duleep Allirajah, head of policy at MacmillanCancer Support, says: "Ensuring that patients are offered an integrated package of care is particularly important for people at the end of life. We know that far too often peoples’ choices about where they die are not respected because of a breakdown between the health and social care systems. This can result in people dying in hospital unnecessarily due to delays in being discharged. This is not only terribly distressing for both patients and their families but is also extremely costly for the NHS."