Collaboration is not a new concept, but NHS England mandated as of July 2022 that all NHS trusts providing either acute care or mental health services must join a provider collaborative.
This was done in the same move that introduced integrated care boards and integrated care systems, and it’s within these systems that provider collaboratives sit; another aspect of joined-up operations designed to reduce waste and improve efficiency within an ever-busier NHS.
Due to devolution, many NHS changes start out in NHS England (NHSE) first, so NHS trusts were chosen to be the starting point and to work with community trusts, ambulance trusts, and the VCSE sector (where appropriate) in order to enhance care provision and service availability via better leverage of finances.
In this article we will look at what provider collaboration looks like; how collaboration is organised, who manages it, who has the authority, and the benefits involved. We’ll also offer guidance on how these groups could improve their cooperation and open more channels of communication, but first, lets explain what provider collaboratives are.
Fuel banks, sometimes called warmbanks, are simple but innovative solutions to protect people from fuel poverty. No one should be forced to choose whether to put food on the table or heat their homes.
It is estimated that currently, between 4.1 million and 7.3 million households are living in fuel poverty, with half of these households expected to be family homes with young children.
Living in cold homes can be detrimental to both an individual’s physical and mental health regardless of their age and it is estimated that fuel poverty is costing the NHS an estimated £1.4 billion a year.
Fuel banks therefore offer a solution to enable individuals to live in happier, healthier, and warmer homes by addressing how someone’s health starts at home and offering solutions to overcome the current housing issues facing the UK to prevent further deterioration of health.
But what are fuel banks? How do they work? And how can they reduce the increasing public health pressures on the NHS?
By the end of this article, you should know everything about fuel banks including how they work, who funds them, and most importantly who can use them and where to find them. In this article, we will also explain how social prescribing in housing can also help fuel banks develop further so more people in need can be helped to prevent further dependency on primary and emergency care.
Fuel poverty can be defined in multiple ways across the UK. The fuel poverty strategy across England specifically focuses on prioritising low-income households for energy efficiency support aimed at reducing income poverty.
It is estimated that 6 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to a temperature needed to keep warm and healthy, a 2 million household increase since 2021.
But what is fuel poverty? What causes fuel poverty, what are the impacts, and how can fuel poverty awareness be raised to help increase funding and tackle fuel poverty so everyone can live in warmer, healthier, and safer homes?
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we know how the wider social determinants of health impact physical and mental wellbeing, with housing being a main example.
This article will explain how fuel poverty is defined and measured, what causes it, the outcomes, and methods to tackle fuel poverty to improve quality of life.
By explaining the benefits of social prescribing in housing, this article will explain how providing the right support helps to tackle fuel poverty by not just supporting households now but in the future too.
Handovers in care homes should accurately convey information about residents’ conditions and needs across shift changes. They ensure that everyone is made aware of everything significant that has occurred before they start their shift. This process safeguards the continued safety of both residents and staff.
Handover notes are handwritten or electronic documents that a member of staff completes and shares with the person relieving them of their shift. They should list the tasks that have been recently completed, any updates, and instructions for the next shift.
In this article we will explore the best ways to carry out an effective handover in your care home and discuss how handover templates can help the process.
The CQC single assessment framework is now live for all adult social care
providers across the country and the new CQC provider portal is currently live for selected providers, with limited functionality, e.g. restricted to some notification types.
With the Single Assessment Framework, the CQC is aiming for a more dynamic and data-led strategy that puts people’s experiences at the forefront of regulation and the heart of the assessment framework.
As a care provider, it’s crucial that you understand the new inspection regime and how these significant changes to the way they regulate and inspect may affect you. This article has been created to help you understand more about the CQC's new inspection and assessment framework and the background to these changes.
You can also download this comprehensive guide, and sign up for our compliance experts' monthly updates on everything CQC.
Integrated Care Systems (ICS) were introduced to connect the newly formed Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local authorities, enabling a more seamless healthcare service which could then give better visibility of the needs of patients and allow NHS organisations to more effectively meet these needs and provide the right high-quality care - with the ultimate goal of helping more people and to a greater degree of success.
In the words of NHS England: “Integrated care is about giving people the support they need, joined up across local councils, the NHS, and other partners. It removes traditional divisions between hospitals and family doctors, between physical and mental health, and between NHS and council services.”
ICSs began in July 2023 but were first proposed in February 2022, when the UK Government published its ‘Joining up care for people, places and populations’ whitepaper, which laid out new plans for the integration of health and social care in England and how ICSs can bring this together in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.
Local authorities and NHS England are working closely together but there is still a long way to go due to further government reform, funding changes and internal goals and targets. This is affecting the speed and timing for when these changes can be implemented and we are still feeling the disruption post-pandemic.
In this article we will explore the annual priorities of an Integrated Care System and how these goals are set and ranked. We will also discuss the hangover effect of Covid-19 and the strain on the NHS, the challenges of ongoing digital transformation, and the role providers such as The Access Group can have in aiding an ICB in delivering quality care to their local area.
Dignity in care should be a priority for everyone working in the care sector. Promoting respect and dignity in care should focus on how care is designed and delivered. Both dignity and respect in health and social care form the fundamental pillars that shape the quality of a service that is provided to an individual and when implemented correctly, it can improve the interactions between service users and carers as well as their quality of life.
But preserving and promoting dignity and respect in care is sometimes easier said than done. How can you ensure staff know how to strike the balance between providing care and support, without compromising people’s dignity? The first step to preserving dignity in health and social care is understanding what it means and why it’s so important.
For over 30 years, we at The Access Group have digitised care services across the world. We aim to improve the lives of both service users and providers by giving them the freedom to do more. Working in the care sector for decades, we’ve seen great examples of how you can ensure dignity and respect. This article has been created from those experiences, to explore the definition and significance of respect and dignity in care, alongside various things you can do to promote and preserve it in your service.
Digital Health Rewired 2024 took place mid-March, and once again we were treated to an exciting exploration of cutting-edge innovations and the transformative potential of healthcare.
The venue packed out over 3,000 attendees across the two days, with more than 300 speakers and over 50 exhibitor stands - one of which being Access HSC (Health Support and Care). Our team had the pleasure of talking to hundreds of people over the course of the event, showcasing how Access is helping to transform the way people work in healthcare.
We also had the opportunity to listen in on several talks and discussions, gaining valuable insights into both the current state of the health and social care sector and its future trajectory.
Healthcare data analytics is the study of data relating to patients or services provided by a healthcare organisation. Healthcare data is extremely important to providing the very best care, but the insights available through data interpretation require expertise to extract them.
This expertise in healthcare data and analytics could be from a clinician, or it could be from a software solution, but either way there is an element of investment needed; whether that’s time, money, or belief. Without this, there will be no growth of healthcare data, but with it we can explore patterns, trends, patient habits, and make discoveries about major or minor tweaks to care processes that could save money, time, or better still save lives.
Data-driven healthcare is quickly becoming the guiding force behind modern health and care services, so in this article we will explore the importance of data in healthcare, as well provide an introduction to healthcare data analytics and explore what the analysis of healthcare data can achieve. Our goal is to make this a healthcare data guide that you can refer back to as a primer for exploring data analytics or even establishing your own analytics solutions.
The patient experience is a big part of modern healthcare; accounting for the thoughts and feelings of individuals receiving care in a way that hasn’t been done in previous generations.
Before we can explore this subject though, we must first define patient experience.
What is patient experience?
Patient experience is what a person encounters during their care journey; from first interaction with a doctor or nurse, to diagnosis, through to treatment, and then on to aftercare; either within a hospital setting or discharged for observation back in a home or community setting.
Virtual wards are the newest addition to this patient journey, offering a form of hospital at home to allow a more hands-off experience in the familiarity of a home environment whilst still being monitored by top of the range equipment communicating patient vitals in real-time, and having routine check-ins with doctors and nurses.
Many organisations will be wondering how can the patient experience be improved. In this article we will walk through why patient experiences matter and how to enhance the patient experience. We will touch on the two main areas – healthcare software and staff – as well as the ways organisations like the NHS can implement support structures or frameworks to make sure the patient experience is being actively considered with all planning and actions.
