Integrated Care May Suffer from New Funding System
- 11 Apr
The government's ambitions to introduce integrated care are at risk because the Department of Health has made the funding process to complicated.
The King's Fund have warned that the critical issues of where the NHS funds are allocated are being overlooked as they have made the way they allocate money too fragmented.
The report by the think tank has said that critical issues of how and where NHS funds are allocated are being overlooked in the heated debates over the wider health service reforms.Published today, the report warns that the changes to the NHS funding system make the funding more fragmented and risk creating ‘confusion and complexity’, which could result in undermining the government’s ambition to provide more integrated care.
The recent changes mean that there needs to be vast improvements in the way central government allocates resources.
The report says it welcomes the new changes but calls for a strategic and long-term assessment of the aims and methods of NHS resource allocation:
We argue that it needs to go further, and provide a more fundamental reassessment of the objectives, processes and methods of health resource allocation in England. In doing so, it must address two key questions.
Should resource allocation be a neutral way of allocating funds to the NHS and local government?
Or a policy tool to support the NHS in delivering its mandate and changes to the wider system?The King's Fund report gives recommendations for how NHS England should change to match the new allocations, show how different ways of moving resources across the health system could support better integration with other services, with the concept of a community budget single cashpot arrangement.
David Buck, senior fellow at The King's Fund said:
Recent reforms bring major changes to resource allocation, risking confusion and complexity.
As the funding squeeze bites, it is crucial that we think carefully about how and why health spending is allocated.
NHS England's fundamental review is an opportunity for much-needed debate about what we hope to achieve through that funding in future.
Related articles
- 26 Aug
Adults with vulnerabilities in custody are not receiving appropriate support
A report commissioned by the Home Office has said that lack of awareness and a shortage of trained volunteers means police often go ahead without on present, reports the BBC.Home Secretary Theresa...
- 11 Aug
Chief inspector warns cuts are affecting adult social care
Andrea Sutcliffe has said that many carers ended up being "the sort of care worker you wouldn't want them to be", reports the BBC.Adult social care budgets have been cut by £4.6bn since 2010 - a 31%...
- 04 Jun
Social care services for adults struggling due to budget cuts
There is a £1.1.bn shortfall to councils in England warns the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, and freezing care provider fees to save money is no longer sustainable, reports the...
- 03 Jun
People with vulnerabilities left at risk by policy makers
‘Solutions from the Frontline’, published by a coalition of charities looks into the ideas and experiences of service users. It investigates how the new government along with national and local...
- 20 Apr
Social landlords in Wales hope to save the NHS £1.7m
The savings will come from housing 33 patients under the care of the Aneurin Bevan University health board, through a project called ‘In One Place.' This project places patients who have a mental...
- 17 Apr
New supported housing service for people needing care after hospital
The service will provide supported accommodation for people who no longer need specialist medical care, but who are no longer able to return home due to changes in their home care needs. It is hoped...
- 15 Apr
Proposal for an extension on the integration of health and social care in Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council wishes to agree on a new deal which will help to improve integration between health and social care for its residents, reports ITV.The deal, if agreed, will extend the...
- 17 Mar
Older people and people with disabilities finding it hard to get state funded care
Social services leaders are warning that many people with disabilities or older people with care needs are facing the challenge of having to pay for their own support at the end of the next...
- 11 Nov
The number of people using food banks has risen by 1,468%
Latest figures by the Trussell Trust show that 913,138 adults and children have received three day's emergency food and support from its food banks over 103/14 which is an increase of 346,992 since...
- 30 Oct
Support for patients with vulnerabilities with eased pressure on hospitals
Teams of social workers and NHS staff will soon become available seven days a week under new care plans, reports the BBC.Ministers are predicting that pressures will ease on hospitals from April once...
Revenue Optimisation "Coventry Mind has recently worked through a programme of Housing Benefit optimisation with Support Solutions and in particular their specialist Danny Key. Throughout the whole process Danny demonstrated that he has excellent knowledge of the subject and was able to put forward a convincing case for the increase in funding to the Housing Benefit team. Coventry Mind has already and will continue to recommend Support Solutions and in particular this service to other organisations." Steven Hill - Director of Central Services
