Integrated care questions persist

  The BMA has warned that ‘significant question marks’ hang over Scotland’s integrated health and social care arrangements as the flagship policy goes live. From 1 April, health and social care partnerships, sometimes called joint integration boards or care boards, became legally responsible for almost £8bn of funding for adults' social care and community and primary care-based services. Described by the Scottish Government as the ‘single biggest reform to the way health and social care is delivered in Scotland’, the new arrangements mean NHS and local authorities are jointly responsible for the health and social care needs of their local populations. Although the exact arrangements vary across Scotland, effectively it means that NHS and local authority funding for out-of-hospital care (health and social) will be channeled through the new bodies. In most areas this includes community health services, mental health, and primary care, as well as social care.   Long road Speaking on 1 April, BMA Scotland council chair Peter Bennie (pictured above) said it was a significant milestone. But he added: ‘There is still a long way to go before we know whether they will be effective in improving outcomes for patients. ‘Audit Scotland warned last year that work towards integration was not as advanced as it needed to be. ‘The way in which the new integrated bodies listen to doctors and respond to clinical priorities will be...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news