Organisations providing social care in the community will be only too aware of the challenges facing the healthcare system as a whole, in particular A&E departments.
With high ambulance and A&E wait times, community care organisations are under pressure to provide emergency assistance for patients who they have a duty of care for.
Having the right resources at their disposal is an essential part of this process and this article explains how care homes and social care providers can get the financial support they need to deliver the best standards of care.
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NHS Funding Programmes for Community Care
The NHS have released various funding packages in recent months, designed to equip community care for an increase in hospital discharges.
What is the £250m Hospital Discharge Fund?
The government has released £250m to buy up thousands of beds for care homes so they can absorb an influx of discharged patients into the community. This has been released on the back of the £500m Adult Social Care Discharge Fund. Frontrunner trusts are trialling new innovative methods of increasing discharges.
£500m Adult Social Care Discharge Fund
The purpose of the £500m fund is to “support timely and safe discharge from hospital into the community by reducing the number of people delayed in hospital awaiting social care”.
The funding allocation is 40% to local authorities and 60% to ICBs (Integrated Care Boards).
Integrated Care Services (ICSs) are partnerships of NHS bodies, local authorities and other relevant organisations that plan joined up health and care services for their area. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) is the statutory NHS organisation responsible for coordinating the plan and managing the NHS budget for that area, replacing CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups).
The funding conditions are based around the following themes:
- It can be used flexibly, Discharge2Access and homecare are also recognised. Anything that is effective in freeing up hospital beds.
- It can be used to increase workforce capacity
Refer to Annex B on the scheme outline to see the full list of conditions.
Adult Social Care Digital Transformation Fund
An £8.2m fund to digitalise social care systems and achieve efficiencies which includes the following features:
- Integrated Care Systems that will help Adult Social Care providers transform care
- Falls prevention and detection technologies, such as acoustic monitoring or the HipGuard falls protection belt.
- 13 Integrated Care Services have received funding of £679,500 each
- This link provides information on how to access funding for social care
Integrated Care Partnerships
Local health and care organisations have partnered together, e.g. CCGs and the fire service, to deliver care and support to where it is most needed within the community. The success of this is recounted in the NHS publication “Going further for winter: Community-based falls response”.
One South Essex care home reported: “Our 111 calls have decreased by 100% since we’ve had the Raizer chair. We haven’t needed to call them since. That chair is absolutely invaluable — and we can’t manage without it now. There is just so much calmness now around the residents — they actually enjoy using it!! We’ve had one or two falls which other residents have then witnessed us using the Raizer, and they have asked if they can have a go!”
Contact your local Integrated Care Service to discuss how a collaboration in your area can mutually benefit all involved.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
Specific care packages can be requested for adults in the community with long-term needs. Social care is arranged and funded solely by the NHS. There is a separate framework in place for children and young people.
Check the eligibility criteria to see if any patients under your care are eligible for this funding.
Additional Funding Sources for Community Care Equipment
Vivid.Care have lots of tools and resources to assist you in procuring and financing your equipment.
- Justification Templates — to obtain approval for your spending submission, use one of our justification templates designed for this process, tailored for different applications.
- Prescription Forms —our product prescription forms make specifying equipment for your clients easy, guiding you through the different options so you can configure your product.
- Guides — search our library of professional resources for healthcare providers by condition, to tailor resources to the needs of your patients.
In Summary
Our experience in partnering with the NHS and Local Authorities gives us a sound understanding of the challenges and nuances of the funding system. As a partner to your care organisation we would share our expertise and support to guide you through funding initiatives, including supporting documents wherever possible.
Contact us today to discuss your requirements and how you can obtain funding.
Ralph has many years' experience in the healthcare sector. In a previous life he worked in finance, and his spreadsheet skills come in handy for all the analysis and research he does as he investigates topics and solutions for some of the world's most complex healthcare conditions and challenges. Aside from writing in-depth articles and organising webinars and interviews with top healthcare professionals, Ralph also administrates Vivid's "Healthcare Pioneers Board", a large group of healthcare specialists with multiple disciplines, who are working together to improve care for years to come.
