NHS
The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a national framework for the assessment of fully funded continuing care in a bid to further improve the service offered by the NHS.
Discussing the move, health minister, Stephen Ladyman, said the launch was the next logical step following the move from 95 health authorities to 28 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) in 2002.
"It is now practical to move forward and improve the system further. The department will work with the Strategic Health Authorities to build on all the good work done so far. Learning from good practice, supported by the findings of our independent review, we will produce a national approach to continuing care to improve consistency, and ease of understanding," he said.
Ladyman added that while the move did not signal a break from past practice, it should make the process easier.
"The current assessment criteria is fair and legal, but the new framework will make the process easier to understand for practitioners and patients alike."
Commenting on the launch, Philip Spiers, director of NHFA, said: "We welcome this long awaited announcement as, we are sure, will Strategic Health Authorities and patients alike. The setting up of a new national framework to assess fully-funded continuing care within the NHS will hopefully provide the clarity needed to define what is a very fine line between means tested social care and free NHS continuing care. The current system is clearly unworkable and confusing," he said.
In addition to introducing a new framework, the DoH has also published an independent report on the subject entitled, Continuing health care: Review, revision and restitution. The report helped prompt the decision to move to a national framework.
It revealed that most SHAs believe momentum needs to be maintained if the progress, which has been made so far, is not to be lost and further achievements are to be made.
