End health and social care divide, say MPs

A cross-party group of MPs, chaired by Labour backbencher David Hinchliffe wants the structural division between health and social care to end to improve the services for those with long-term care needs. "The artificial barriers between health and social care lie at the heart of the problems surrounding access to continuing care funding, and we believe it will be impossible to resolve these problems without first establishing a fully integrated health and social care system."

A committee of cross-party MPs has called on the next government to integrate health and social care in a single community care provider in order to end inconsistencies in long-term care funding.

The call is in a Commons health committee report, NHS Continuing Care, sixth report of 2004-05, published 5 April 2005.

The committee, chaired by Labour backbencher David Hinchliffe, concluded the arrangements for funding long-term care are too complex, and a lack of coherent guidance has contributed to widespread variation in practice around the country.

Its report argues the "confusion, inconsistency and opacity" stems from the barriers between health and social care, and recommends these be removed.

Hinchliffe writes: "The artificial barriers between health and social care lie at the heart of the problems surrounding access to continuing care funding, and we believe it will be impossible to resolve these problems without first establishing a fully integrated health and social care system.

"We therefore recommend, as this committee and its predecessor committees have done on numerous previous occasions, that the government removes the structural division between health and social care."

The report recommends the government integrate the parallel funding systems for NHS continuing care and nursing care for those who do not qualify for fully funded continuing care.

And it argues this single funding system should include incentives to reward high-quality care and promote rehabilitation and independence.

It says the long-standing problems of inconsistency and inequity should be tackled by establishing a single set of eligibility criteria for continuing care in a bid to end the postcode lottery in access to funding.

These criteria should take into account physical, psychological and mental health needs, be supported by a standard assessment methodology.

Jonathan Ellis, Help the Aged policy manager, said: "[This] report lends weight to the calls to end a confusing anomaly in the NHS.

"For too long, older people and their families have been left confused and uncertain about their entitlement to fully-funded NHS care at a critical point in their lives.

"The artificial distinction between health and social care needs only adds to this sense of confusion."

Posted April 24, 2005.