The importance of local services working together
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published State of health care and adult social care in England 2018/19 which is their annual assessment of health and social care in England. One of the key points is that care services and organisations must work more closely together to ensure the right services are being commissioned to deliver what people need in their local area.
The report states “The challenge for all care organisations is to change the way that services work together and ensure that the right services are being commissioned for local needs. There needs to be a more urgent focus from leaders on delivering care in collaborative ways to ensure that people are getting the support they need. Our staff have reported the increasing importance of how health and social care services work together.”
This was the theme of SIL’s recent presentation at the GovConnent Mental Health 2019 conference last month in London. Martin Boggan, Managing Director and Richard Cunningham, Development Director, alongside Lynda Patino of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, spoke about the partnership approach that SIL have with the Trust and Nene and Corby CCG, to develop a step down supported living scheme specifically to target a cohort of (predominantly) female in patients with a diagnosis of Personality Disorder and histories of high risk behaviours, multiple or long term hospital admissions and failed community placements.
To address this need, SIL sourced accommodation through a partnership with a private developer and Chrysalis Housing Association to provide ten self-contained flats with additional staff office and accommodation at Salem Lane in the heart of Wellingborough with support provided by an onsite team working in close cooperation with NHFT’s Community Recovery team. The presentation explored how the development of genuine partnership working between a private provider and the NHS has produced positive Recovery outcomes for a complex client group, and highlights of the presentation are available to view here:
https://youtu.be/cfjJC0ekyT8