A new settlement for health and social care

"A new settlement is needed for health and social care in England that breaks down the historic divide between the two systems and provides a much simpler path through the current maze of health and social care."

A new settlement for health and social care: Final report
K Barker
The King's Fund
September 2014

Read more here.

Transitions at the end of life for older adults

"Development of a shared understanding of professional and carer roles in end-of-life transitions may be one of the most effective ways of improving patients’ experiences."

Transitions at the end of life for older adults – patient, carer and professional perspectives: a mixed-methods study
B Hanratty, E Lowson, G Grande, S Payne, J Addington-Hall, N Valtorta1, J Seymour
Health Services Delivery Research, 2014; 2(17)

Read more here.

NHS England's commitment for carers

"Carers are a hugely important asset to the NHS as well as to the people for whom they provide care for. This document sets out a series of commitments that NHS England will do to support carers, reflecting what NHS England has heard from carers during a number of engagement events."

NHS England's commitment for carers

NHS England

April 2014

Read more here.

A new settlement for health and social care

"In our view, the weight of evidence makes it clear that the present settlement lacks transparency, is inefficient, puts too much weight on individual rather than collective responsibility, and raises a significant moral concern about the lack of equity of treatment for similar levels of need."

A new settlement for health and social care: Interim report
K Barker (Chair), Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England
The King’s Fund
April 2014

Read more here.

Care in crisis: what’s next for social care?

"The care system in England is in crisis. Older people, their families and carers are often placed under incredible pressure navigating a system which is confusing and unfair. Many are denied access to help, while others are forced to sacrifice what they have worked all their lives for."

Care in crisis: what’s next for social care?
Age UK
January 2014
Read more here.

Commissioning for carers 2013

"Carers are one of the most valuable assets within our communities. They are people whose contribution commissioners need to recognise, support and nurture."

Commissioning for carers 2013
Royal College of General Practitioners
May 2013

Read more here.

Identifying risks and monitoring safety: the role of patients and citizens

"The paper discusses opportunities for patients, their families and carers, as well as the wider public, to become part of an integrated system for ensuring the safety of care."

Identifying risks and monitoring safety: the role of patients and citizens
J O'Hara, R Isden
The Health Foundation
October 2013

Read more here.

Measuring the impact of caregiving on informal carers

"The CarerQol can be used in informal care research and economic evaluations of health care interventions. Hence, its use can facilitate informed decision making in health care."

Measuring the impact of caregiving on informal carers: a construct validation study of the CarerQol instrument
RJ Hoefman, J van Exel, Werner BF Brouwer
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2013, 11:173

Read more here.

Transforming participation in health and care

"This guide will help clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and other commissioners of health and care services to involve:

• patients and carers in decisions relating to care and treatment
• the public in commissioning processes and decisions."

Transforming participation in health and care
NHS England
September 2013

Read more here.

Building dementia-friendly communities: a priority for everyone

"In order for dementia-friendly communities to succeed, the views and opinions of people with dementia and their carers must be at the heart of any considerations or decisions."

Building dementia-friendly communities: a priority for everyone
Alzheimer's Society
August 2013

Read more here.

Supporting working carers

"This report is a landmark statement from business and Government that more can and should be done to support people who want to combine caring for a family member with working."

Supporting working carers: the benefits to families, business and the economy
HM Government
August 2013

Read more here.

Commissioning for carers

"Commissioning well for carers can:

• Reduce admissions to hospital and residential care.
• Reduce the costs of delays in transfers of care.
• Reduce carers’ need to access primary care as a result of their caring role.
• Reduce overall spending on care."

Commissioning for Carers: Key principles for Clinical Commissioning Groups
Carers Trust
July 2013

Read more here.

Fulfilling potential, making it happen

"Creating personalised services for disabled people marks a real commitment to building services around the needs of the individual."

Fulfilling potential, making it happen
Department for Work and Pensions
July 2013

Read more here.

Exploring the impact of caring on people's lives

"Shares the personal accounts of carers as they discuss the realities of caring for a family member or friend."

Prepared to care? Exploring the impact of caring on people's lives
Carers Week
June 2013

Read more here.

Measuring patient experience

"This evidence scan describes approaches to measuring patient and carer experiences of healthcare."

Measuring patient experience: Evidence Scan 18
The Evidence Centre
The Health Foundation
June 2013

Read more here.

Patient and carer experience of obtaining medication for chronic conditions

"This paper presents findings from England of a qualitative study and survey of patients and their carers' experiences of community and primary care based services for physical chronic diseases."

Patient and carer experience of obtaining regular prescribed medication for chronic disease in the English National Health Service: a qualitative study
PM Wilson, N Kataria, E McNeilly
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:192

Read more here.

NICE support for commissioners of dementia care

"Commissioning dementia care in line with NICE guidance and standards should support commissioners to improve health and social care outcomes in line with the clinical commissioning group outcome indicator set and other national outcomes frameworks."

Access the resources here.

Making integrated care happen at scale and pace

"The aim of this paper is to support the process of ‘making it happen’ by summarising the steps that need to be taken to make integrated care a reality ..."

Making integrated care happen at scale and pace
C Ham, N Walsh
March 2013

Read more here.

Health economics research into supporting carers of people with dementia

"This paper reviews outcome measures commonly used in health services research and health economics research involving carers of people with dementia."

Health economics research into supporting carers of people with dementia: a systematic review of outcome measures
C Jones, R Tudor Edwards, B Hounsome
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2012, 10:142

Read more here.

The Engagement Cycle

This resource is for commissioners of health services, it sets out what is required when engaging patients, carers and the public in the decisions made about health service provision. It provides practical advice, case-study examples and links to other vital information.

Access The Engagement Cycle here.