The commitment to creating a National Care Service is a significant moment for social care.
But at PCS, we don’t think we should wait for a new national system to start fixing the problems already putting pressure on care services and the NHS.
Making hospital discharge safer
Hospital discharge is one of the clearest examples. Too often, people move from hospital into care without all the information needed to support them properly. When health and social care work from different or incomplete information, an already difficult move becomes harder. That affects the person, their care team, and the NHS if that person ends up back in hospital.
Almost one in five emergency admissions among people aged 75 and over is a readmission within 30 days of leaving hospital. Readmissions overall have been rising for a decade.* Too many older people are going back into hospital soon after leaving it. We believe better information at the point of discharge could help prevent some of those readmissions.
What better use of information makes possible
We see every day what better use of information makes possible. Many care providers now use digital care records. Care teams record how someone is eating, sleeping and moving, and the medication they are taking. Used well, that information can help care teams spot when someone’s health may be starting to decline and act earlier. It can also help make sure care after discharge reflects what that person actually needs.
That is one of the opportunities a Person Centred Software National Care Service presents. But we don’t need to wait for the new service to be in place to make progress. We can start improving how information moves between hospitals, local authorities and care providers now.
Building the foundations of a connected system now
Getting the right information to the right people at the right time will improve hospital discharge, reduce avoidable readmissions and take pressure off the NHS today.
That means bringing providers and technology partners like us into the conversation from the start. Then the foundations of a connected system can be built alongside the funding and workforce model. Getting the right information to the right people at the right time will improve hospital discharge, reduce avoidable readmissions and take pressure off the NHS today.”
