The challenges for community health services
Community health services cover ‘cradle to grave’ services that many of us take for granted. They provide a wide range of care, from supporting patients to manage long-term conditions like respiratory disease and diabetes, to treating those who are seriously ill with complex conditions.
In addition to treating patients in their own homes, they also provide a range of preventative and health improvement services, often with a range of partners from local government and the third sector. At some point in their lives most people will have contact with these services.
Plans are underway to transfer community service provision from primary care trusts (PCTs) by April 2011. The presence of these services in the community and their close day-to-day working relationships with GPs means they are well placed to deliver the improvements that strike at the heart of the Government’s planned NHS reforms.
This Briefing sets out the key points from our discussions with members who have experience of transferring services, including their learning about how best to transfer services, what exactly should be transferred, the cultural issues to consider and the necessary governance arrangements.
Briefing 209