Patients with dementia, diabetes and learning disabilities are being let
down by their local health services in many parts of England, new figures show.
A postcode lottery of care across the country has been highlighted as
new performance data shows that while some health bodies are performing well,
neighbouring organisations are falling short.
More than half (57%) of local health bodies in England are not
performing well enough on dementia, 71% are classed as “needs improvement” for
diabetes care and 92% need to improve care for people with learning
disabilities, the figures show.
The figures, released by NHS England, show that many clinical
commissioning groups (CCGs) have been classed as needing improvement in the
different aspects of care.
They have been released as part of a package of measures announced by
the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to improve IT and digital services in the
NHS.
Hunt said patients would be able to compare how well their local health
service performed against others for key areas including cancer, dementia,
diabetes, mental health, learning disabilities and maternity care.
Information on how well each local trust performs on dementia, diabetes
and learning disability services was published on the MyNHS website, with more information on other
services to be added in the autumn.
On dementia care, CCGs are rated on the number of patients are receiving
a formal diagnosis and whether people with dementia are receiving annual
reviews of their care plan in primary care.
Of England’s 209 CCGs, 120 need to improve their performance for these
aspects of care.
Jeremy Hughes, the chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“Over the last few years, our health system has made strides to improve
dementia diagnosis rates, but with 45% of CCGs still lagging behind the
national ambition, there is a significant way to go.
“People with dementia in York
should be getting the same support as those in Bradford – but with diagnosis
rates varying by as much as 46.1% across the country, too many people remain in
the dark, unable to access the vital information, treatments and non-medical
support a diagnosis can bring.
“Given the progressive nature of dementia, which means a person’s needs
become more severe over time, the focus on care plan reviews is essential.
However, a care plan review must be matched with support on the ground and
measures should develop to assess how meaningful these plans are.”
Prof Alistair Burns, NHS England’s national clinical director for
dementia, said: “Awareness of dementia is at its highest and we believe that
timely diagnosis of dementia allows people to access the emotional, practical
and financial support that brings. We have increased the diagnosis rate across
the country so now more than 440,000 people have a formal diagnosis of dementia
and can benefit from post-diagnostic support.
“NHS England today launched a
support package for local areas if they feel they need extra help following the
publication of the Improvement and Assessment Framework.”
Meanwhile, 149 of 209 CCGs were rated as needing to improve their care
for diabetes patients based on the number of people affected who get the
recommended checks each year and the proportion of patients who attend an
education course about their disease.
Prof Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England’s national clinical director for
obesity and diabetes, said: “People with diabetes, type 1 and type 2, have the
best care and outcomes when they receive structured education early following
diagnosis and go on to regularly receive and achieve all of the Nice [National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence]-recommended
checks and targets.
“This is part of our wider programme to improve care for everyone with
diabetes including support to improve achievements of the Nice recommendations,
attendance at structured education and a reduction in amputations and improve
specialist diabetes support during inpatient stays.”
Care for people with learning disabilities was rated on the proportion
of patients receiving annual check-ups and their ability to keep patients out
of hospital. No CCG was given the highest rating of “top performing” and 193
out of 209 were deemed to “need improvement”.
An NHS spokeswoman said: “We have seen significant increases in the
numbers of people both being discharged from hospital and having their care and
treatment reviewed in the last year, but it’s no secret that significant
improvement needs to be made across England.
“The real difference will be made over the coming months and years as
local councils and NHS bodies implement their response to Building the right
support, the three-year, cross-system plan to ensure people with a learning
disability and/or autism have greater say in the care and support they
receive.”
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Work is well under way to help
services around the country make progress in key areas, backed with funding to
help prevent diabetes, find a cure for dementia and provide suitable supported
accommodation for people with learning disabilities.
“All this is shaped by world-leading transparency, focusing efforts
where improvements are needed and helping us learn from the best services.”
SOURCE:
PA Wire, The Guardian
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