- The Health Secretary has highlighted three key elements emerging as a result of the on-going engagement on improving care for vulnerable older people with complex health problems.
- Patients should have a named clinician responsible for the coordination of their care right across the NHS – between hospital, in care homes, and in their own homes.Current views are that a GP should fill this role.
- Care for older people must be joined up between social care services and the NHS
- Information and patient records must be shared across the NHS and social care services so that accurate clinical information is available at all times to everyone involved in a patient’s care, and staff can spend more time providing care, not form-filling. So by the end of 2014 at least one-third of A&Es should be able to see the GP records of their patients; and at least one-third of NHS111 services to be able to see the GP records of their callers.
- See the consultation website: Right care, right place, right time: How can we improve health and care for vulnerable older people?
- See Pulse : GPs to co-ordinate 24/7 care for the elderly from next year
10 September 2013
Joined up care for vulnerable elderly coordinated by GPs
NHS must fundamentally change to solve A&E problemsJeremy Hunt, DH Press release 10 September 2013
