Vulnerable elderly people to have 'named' clinician responsible for their care in the community

All vulnerable, elderly people are to have 'named' clinicians responsible for coordinating their care once they have left hospital.

The proposal is one of just a raft of proposals setting out improvements in primary care and urgent and emergency care and exploring ways for NHS and social care services to work together more effectively for the benefit of patients, both in and out of hospital.

The Department of Health wants to hear from people within the NHS, social care and public health staff plus carers and patients on what they think of the proposals.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “In 65 years, the NHS has quite simply done more to improve people’s lives that any other institution in our history. But too often the people it fails are its heaviest users – our most vulnerable and elderly. Too often these people end up in hospital not by design, but simply because they can’t get the care they need elsewhere.

“We need radical improvements to make sure our most vulnerable and elderly have the support they need to keep them in better health and out of hospital. With one clinician responsible for their care in the community, just as there is a consultant responsible for them in hospital.

“Our immediate focus is on our most vulnerable and elderly. But this is only the starting point of a much broader transformation in out of hospital care – one which will help every single patient and make sure the NHS stays true to the values that underpinned its founding in 1948.”

The proposals include every vulnerable older person having a named clinician responsible for their care outside of hospital, ensuring accountability is clear and care packages are personalised and tailored around individual needs.

Other proposals include better early diagnosis and support to stay healthy by improving the role GPs play in supporting people to stay healthy and taking an active role in managing the health of their local populations.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive for the Alzheimer’s Society, welcomed the proposal of having a named clinician responsible for the care of vulnerable individuals and said it “has the potential to transform the experience people with dementia have of health and social care”.

He added: “However, it’s crucial that the doctors and nurses who are assigned are accessible, understand dementia and how to provide the best care for people with the condition.”

Tim Pethick, Saga's strategy director, said “The Government have correctly identified the issue that no one is responsible for putting people's needs at the heart of delivering care” but he queried the idea of a 'named clinician' saying it “sounds like a bureaucratic traffic light - someone to ensure the patient is shuffled through the system expeditiously.

“When what is needed is someone to champion the needs of the individual, someone focussed on better outcomes for people, rather than the convenience of the health and care systems.”

Over the summer, the Department of Health will seek views on the proposals, test them and the best ways to implement them. It will work with NHS England to set out a plan for improving out-of-hospital care for vulnerable older people.

The final plan will be published in October and will be reflected in the refreshed Mandate to NHS England for 2014-15.

People can comment on the proposals at http://betterhealthandcare.readandcomment.com/