Patients do not get priority, says health watchdog

HEALTH AND social care organisations are prioritising individual performance over patients, the health watchdog has warned.

Leaders should be incentivised to work together and be judged on how well the whole system is meeting the needs of elderly people, according to a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It calls for a new joint approach to funding, regulation and workforce, to transform “fragmented” services. The report follows reviews of 20 local authority areas in England.

Sir David Behan, chief executive of CQC, said: “A system designed in 1948 can no longer effectively meet the complex needs of increasing numbers of older people in 2018,” he said.

“People’s conditions have evolved and that means the way the system works together has got to change too.”

Some professionals are “working across organisational boundaries to provide high-quality care”, Sir David said.

But he added: “Their efforts were often despite the conditions in place to facilitate joint working, rather than because of them.”

Care Minister Caroline Dinenage said: “This report confirms what we already know – the provision of NHS services and social care are two sides of the same coin and it is not possible to have a plan for the NHS without having a plan for social care.

“There are good examples of progress in integrating health and care, including through the Better Care Fund and ongoing joint health and social care assessments pilots, but we know we need to do more. That’s why we will publish a Green Paper in the autumn on social care around the same time as the Government’s long-term plan for the NHS.”