NHS England and the Local Government Association have named the first eight sites that will, for the first time, blend comprehensive health and social care funding for individuals and allow them to take control of how it is used.
NHS England and the Local Government Association have named the first eight sites that will, for the first time, blend comprehensive health and social care funding for individuals and allow them to take control of how it is used.
The first wave of the Integrated Personal Commissioning (IPC) programme will go live on 1 April 2015, providing some 10,000 people with complex needs with greater power to decide how their own combined health and social care budget is spent. The start of the programme is a key first stage in the delivery of the NHS Five Year Forward View that was set out in October 2014.
Four groups of high need individuals – older people with long-term conditions, children with disabilities and their families, people with learning disabilities, and people living with serious mental illness – will be able to take control of their budget to deliver an agreed care plan. As part of the programme, local voluntary organisations will help patients with personal care planning and advocacy.
Last summer local partnerships made up of NHS bodies, councils and voluntary organisations were invited to submit innovative plans to transform the care of some of England’s most vulnerable people.
Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “Our aim in this radical initiative is to end fragmented like-it-or-lump-it health and social care, by giving high-need individuals the power for the first time to decide on the blend of support they themselves want.”
“Integrated Personal Commissioning gives families the chance to make a reality of person-level health and social care integration, as the NHS moves beyond just asking “what’s the matter with you?” to “what matters to you?”.
