New laws streamline care in Scotland

As a way of reducing bed-blocking and aiding the transition back to care homes for patients, the new laws will force councils and the NHS to work collectively to provide more streamlined services at a lower cost. It is expected that those with long-term health conditions, disabilities and the elderly will benefit most from the £8billion pool of funding.

Health Secretary Shona Robinson said: "Integrating health and social care services will fundamentally change the way parts of the healthcare system operates, helping to shift the focus away from acute care towards a model of care that looks after the person at home or in a homely setting."

Robinson claimed that integration is one of the most ambitious programmed undertaken by the Scottish Government. She continued: "It is predicted that by 2037 the number of people with a long term condition will rise by 83 per cent and what is clear is that the traditional models of care, where the NHS and the social care sector work independently of each other, are no longer suitable to effectively care for these people."

In March, Greater Manchester took control of its entire health and care budget, and a further 28 areas in England are piloting health and social care partnerships. It is estimated that 60 per cent of health board budgets and 72 per cent of local authority social care budgets in Scotland will join 'integration authorities'.

Some partnerships are well underway in the integration process. The three partnerships working together in Ayrshire have had their plans approved and are implementing changes while the Highlands of Scotland have had merged health and social care budgets since 2012.

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