WIREDGOV

One of the key challenges for the health and social care system over the next five years is how to support effectively the growing number of people who have more than one long term condition or other need.

How to meet this challenge will be the subject of an address being given to the annual general meeting of the National Voices coalition by Dr Martin McShane, NHS England’s National Director for Patients with Long Term Conditions.

With its members representing many different types of conditions and communities, the National Voices coalition offers a key forum for considering the role that health and care services, voluntary and community organisations and people who use services can play in responding to the challenge.

Dr McShane is expected to tell the AGM: “We know that our success in addressing the problems of health care in the twentieth century has given us new problems for the 21st. We need to work with people to shape health and care around their goals as well as their needs and draw upon the assets in their communities and value their carers.

“This can be achieved by co-producing care plans that are about the person and making them easily available. Where this has been done in palliative care it has had staggering results: improving quality of care and reducing costs in the system.

“By working with people with long term conditions we can make sure they have a care plan, agreed with them, available 24hrs a day in case of emergency; for out of hours, 111, ambulance and hospital services. “

Discussions at the AGM in London recently will shape further National Voices’ work around the ‘comorbidities’ or multiple long term conditions agenda.

• Now read Martyn McShane’s blog on why patient care plans are so vital to future person-centred care.