News items from July 2016
NHS seeks views on fairer, sustainable funding for Continuing Healthcare
Patients receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding and their carers and families are being urged to give their views on making funding fairer and sustainable for all eligible patients across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
The local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) – East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG, Leicester City CCG and West Leicestershire CCG – who plan and pay for local healthcare services, are reviewing the current ‘Settings of Care’ policy.
This is the policy that determines how and when CCGs will support individual choice of care setting (e.g. care at home, in a care home or elsewhere) for people receiving CHC funding. It also guides the level of funding for providing care in that setting and includes criteria which ensure individual circumstances are taken into account.
The existing policy has been in place since 2011. It pre-dates recent developments such as Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) which provide an amount of money to individuals with identified health and wellbeing needs to support care. The care is planned and agreed between individuals, families and their local NHS team.
The CCGs in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland want to ensure the refreshed policy takes into account the introduction of PHBs and that it enables:
- robust, fair consistent and transparent commissioning decisions by the CCGs
- consistency in the services that individuals are offered
- value for money in the purchasing of services for individuals
- effective partnership working between healthcare providers, NHS bodies and the Local Authorities in the area
- individual choice as far as is reasonably possible
There are currently over 1,300 people in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland who receive NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. On an annual basis in LLR we spend more on CHC funding than the majority of other areas across England, spending over £73.5million in 2015/16.
At a time when pressures on the NHS have never been greater with an ageing population and a significant increase in the number of people who need CHC funding, the CCGs have a duty to ensure that services are clinically and financially sustainable and that everyone who is eligible has access to appropriate care. We will be taking these things into account as we review the policy.
The CCGs have written to all patients receiving CHC funding to make them aware of their opportunity to give their views and to influence the refresh of the existing policy. Formal public consultation may follow if significant changes are proposed.
Dr Hilary Fox, local GP and Governing Body member of East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG, the lead commissioners for continuing healthcare in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, said:
“It’s important that everyone who is eligible for NHS continuing healthcare benefits from the highest quality of care and has equal access to funding both now and in the future. With the introduction of Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) and the challenges posed by increasing numbers of people needing NHS Continuing Healthcare funding, we need to look carefully at the local policy to ensure it balances personal choice with available funding and equitable care for all.
“Changes to this policy could mean changes to the care people receive in future so we urge everyone currently receiving funding, their families and their carers to take time to complete our survey and share their views. We must stress however, that no changes have yet been made and that we are committed to taking into account public views. Once the policy has been refreshed and approved, any changes would be applied at patients’ next annual review or, in the case of new patients, at the point people are determined eligible for Continuing Healthcare funding.”
In addition to writing to all patients this could affect, CCGs are also holding an event to enable them to find out more and to ask questions. Anyone with concerns or queries in the meantime can also contact CCGs on 0116 295 3405 or via email at [email protected]
Patients who receive packages of care funded by the Local Authority will not be affected by the Settings of Care policy review.
The closing date for the survey is Wednesday 27 July.
Do you care for an adult with a learning disability?
Are you a family carer of an adult who has a learning disability living in Leicestershire?
The Leicestershire Learning Disabilities Partnership Board Family Carers Sub Group, facilitated by the Carers Centre, know that family carers in general can be very busy people who have very little “me” time, but they're urging you to join the group for help and support. They say:
"Family carers of a person who has a learning disability have often had 18+ years of caring before the person they care for becomes an adult and requires adult services to support them. Once the person who has a learning disability becomes an adult we know that some carers can be caring for an additional 40+ years.
There have been many changes happening both locally and nationally over the last few years which have affected family carers and people who have a learning disability.
It is hard to become involved in a group when there are so many caring responsibilities. It can feel that there is very little time for anything else. But, one of the difficulties of not becoming involved is that it is easy to feel isolated and it can feel that things are happening to you, rather than with you.
Below are some details about our group. Even if you joined our group we cannot promise that we can stop some of these things happening, but as a group it is easier to raise issues and concerns about what is affecting family carers and people who have a learning disability.
We are all family carers of an adult who has a learning disability. The sub-group is part of the Leicestershire Learning Disabilities Partnership Board. The Family Carers group’s role is to raise awareness of issues affecting carers of adults and young people in transitions who have a learning disability to the Leicestershire Learning Disability Partnership Board and where appropriate, other relevant services.
We normally meet on the first Monday of the month, although this occasionally has to change due to bank holidays or unforeseen circumstances.
We arrange our meetings so that one month we have a business meeting where we can raise issues that affect family carers of adults or young people in transitions who have a learning disability in Leicestershire, and the following month we have speakers to update us on what is happening locally.
We meet at Leicestershire County Council, County Hall, Glenfield from 10am to 12:30pm. If you go to reception they will tell you which room we will be in.
If you would like to become involved please contact Gill on 0116 2510999 and she will be able to tell you when we will next be meeting and what we will be covering at the next meeting."
