Integration
Integrated care is about people only having to tell their story once and getting the high-quality care and support that they want and need, in a joined-up and seamless way. It’s about the right services being provided and care being given by appropriately skilled workers.
To do this, social care, health services, housing organisations and other service providers need to work together to join up the care and support they provide.
We’ve developed resources to help you to consider how to work across organisational boundaries to deliver seamless care.
These principles will help you to think through what is meant by workforce integration and the contribution that workforce development can make. There is also practical guidance to help you when thinking about the learning and development needs of your workers.
The extent to which organisations work together affects people’s experiences of being admitted and/or discharged from hospital.
We spoke to a range of adult social care and health employers to find out how they work with each other and other sectors, particularly around hospital admissions and discharges.
We’ve developed seven top tips based on the findings, to help you build effective relationships and refine current ways of working with different organisations in your integrated care system.
Download the top tips
In an increasingly integrated social care and health system that is focussed on independence, choice and control, the importance of coordinating care is growing.
The title of ‘care coordinator’ is commonly used to identify one worker from across both social care and health who would ‘coordinate’ the care for an individual who accesses care and support.
It's also used in other ways too, so we worked with partners to develop ‘A guide to coordinating care'. This guide clarifies the functions involved in coordinating care and supports a consistent definition of care coordination for those working at the interface of social care and health.
Download the guide
We’ve produced two short guides to support decision making and provide information and guidance on delivering delegated healthcare tasks safely and competently.
Download the guides
The Enhanced health in care home framework supports providers and commissioners of services to improve the quality of life, healthcare and planning for people living in care homes.
We've mapped our tools and resources to the framework, so that you can look at what practical help there is with adapting the way you work in your service to be prepared for future opportunities that arise from more integrated working. This guide is being refreshed and we will publish an updated version shortly.
The adult social care workforce is well placed to support the prevention agenda as they play a key part in promoting independence, enabling people to live the life that they choose, and recognising people’s strengths and the importance of family, friends and communities – all of which can reduce the risk of health problems and/or delay the need for care and support. Skills for Care commissioned research to learn more about the scope of prevention activity across the adult social care sector.
Download the research report
We found that there’s emerging good practice and increased partnership working to deliver preventative work in social care. However, there’s a lot more to learn about the changing landscape and to promote the valued role of social care in prevention activities.
Our research so far has found that adult social care employers define prevention in four main areas.
- Supporting people to live as healthily as possible, both mentally and physically
- Reducing the use of health services, including primary care, emergency services and hospitals
- Preventing or reducing the escalation of health issues
- Supporting people to remain as independent as possible.
Download a presentation of the key findings of the research so far.