New study concludes:
- No shared understanding of what integration means
- Pilots achieved “only mixed results” and made little progress on unplanned hospital admissions, although staff reported improved communication.
- Little engagement with GPs, and the impact on patient experience was “mixed”, they reported improved organisation but being less likely to see a doctor or nurse and less involvement in decisions.
While we challenge the flawed provisions of the Health and Care Bill, it’s also important to recognise that NHS England’s claim the Bill is all about creating “integrated care” is founded on bogus assumptions.
Not only will the new system NOT be integrated (all the existing divisions – between commissioners and providers, primary care and secondary care, acute care and mental health, health and social care, NHS quangos and elected local government – remain intact, with outsourced contracts and private providers still in place with no end in sight) but the model of ‘integrated care’ itself has been shown again and again to be flawed.
Full article in The Lowdown, 15 November 2021