Responding to today's release by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of its State of Care 2017–18 annual report, RCP president Professor Andrew Goddard has called for further investment in integration in order to transform health and social care services and support new ideas.
Professor Goddard said that the State of Care report demonstrated the interconnectedness of all health and social care services:
In their day-to-day role, physicians rely on other services for patients working well to ensure smooth transitions beyond the traditional boundaries between primary, secondary and social care. This report contains some great examples but they are the exception – it is clear that other services are struggling with the same workforce and resource shortages as hospitals.
To improve integration between the different parts of the service, we need additional investment for transforming services and supporting new ideas.
To improve integration between the different parts of the service, we need additional investment for transforming services and supporting new ideas.
The CQC’s reviews of local health and care systems found that ineffective collaboration between local health and care services can result in people not being able to access the care and support services in the community that would avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital, which in turn leads to increased demand for acute services. The most visible impact of this is the pressure on emergency departments, as demand continues to rise, with July 2018 seeing the highest number of attendances on record.
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. It monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety.