Issues Impacting On Older People And Different Aspects Of Knowledge

Section 1

The Joint Future agenda has Transformed the way that Services are provided for older people

Joint Future involves the integration of Health and Social Care Services, with staff from the NHS and Local Authorities forming Teams and sharing premises, equipment, assessment processes and eventually budgets.

This Team approach to service-users' needs aims to avoid delays caused by referrals between Health and Social Care, as well as arguments about funding or who is responsible. Early intervention, assessment, and rehabilitation should also help to avoid unnecessary admission to Hospital and Care Homes. Discharge planning beginning at the point of admission to Hospital should help to reduce delayed discharge by ensuring that all relevant staff are involved, informed, co-ordinated and committed to the process.

Central to the Joint Future philosophy is the role of families and carers, and recognising and valuing the services they provide through the involvement of carers and service users in the consultation and planning process for change.

Our shared Joint Future vision, for all community care groups, is of an integrated health and social care service, sharing equipment, premises and budgets, with minimum bureaucracy and maximum efficiency, which will involve service-users, carers and front-line employees in its planning and processes, and which will provide equal and easy access to health and social care services for everyone, whoever they are, whatever they do, and wherever they live in the City of Aberdeen (Bass, 2006, 139-144).

Among the main aims of Joint Future are ease of access, and speedy delivery of services. This will be achieved through people not having to wait while health and social work make referrals to one another, or decisions as to which agency is responsible for funding.

Another main aim of Joint Future is avoiding unnecessary admissions to Hospital or Care Homes, and enabling people to remain at home for as long as they are able, or wish to do so. This will be achieved through early intervention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, support and rehabilitation, with the aim of promoting people's health, independence and welfare.

Joint Future is also concerned to increase support for families and other informal carers, recognising and valuing the service which they provide while, at the same time, developing the ability of both service- users and carers to participate meaningfully in Joint Future planning and service delivery. (Bass, 2006, 139-144)

Joint Future fits in with what Aberdeen City Council is seeking to achieve through Aberdeenfutures - joined together, one-stop services delivered to people in their local areas, with the minimum of bureaucracy and maximum of efficiency.

In Aberdeen the plan is to create Integrated Health and Social Care Teams based around the current Primary Health Care Teams. The addition of Care Managers and Occupational Therapists will create new Teams in Practices in the City. Strong links will be forged with the full range of Allied Health Professionals and the Voluntary Sector. These Teams are being formed across the city from Autumn 2003 onwards.

Initially this change will cover all services for Care of the Elderly, but it is envisaged that over the next year it will be rolled out to other client groups, such as Mental Health, Physical Disability, Learning Disability etc...