At a roundtable discussion hosted by One Housing Group, NHS Trusts were urged to streamline their services and dramatically reduce their costs by reviewing the way they deliver long-term care. Chaired by healthcare expert Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE, and attended by Professor Steve Field, chairman of the NHS Future Forum, the discussion concluded that NHS land should be released to deliver high quality, purpose-built specialist housing, which offer on-site care and support. This would not only reduce the strain on long-term hospital stays within the NHS system but also deliver significant cost savings and better outcomes for patients.
Moving towards greater integration between health, housing and social care will involve a new operational model, a new cost model and crucially new responses to what the client wants. This will involve measuring and demonstrating the contribution of housing and housing related services in delivering better outcomes at lower cost, particularly in the areas of older peoples care, mental health, complex needs and learning difficulties. It should be possible to use the resources that are available and to use NHS reforms to support this form of approach.
Read the full report here.