More South Lanarkshire residents will soon benefit from innovative services that provide greater community-based care – and which will contribute to the reduction of unnecessary hospital stays.
Members of South Lanarkshire’s Integration Joint Board (IJB) heard yesterday (25 January) about the action being taken to significantly extend the coverage of the ‘Home First’ approach across local communities.
Home First ensures that people can be cared for at home (or as close to home as possible), prevents avoidable admissions to hospital and, where hospital admission is necessary, supports timely discharge.
“During a time of need – such as ill health – most of us will want to be close to our loved ones, in familiar surroundings, within our communities” said Soumen Sengupta, director of health and care for South Lanarkshire.
“We also know that drawing on these connections with families and friends can improve recovery.
“This is the very essence of the Home First ethos – which also places a person’s needs and wishes at the centre of all decision making.”
As the partnership embarks on a careful process to move out of social care contingency measures that were activated to safeguard vital supports for vulnerable people during the festive period, members of the IJB heard how the principles of Home First underpinned the response to one of the most challenging periods on record.
Plans are in place to build further momentum around various practical steps that make Home First a reality in the longer term. This includes, for example, the continuation of vital work by the focused, multi-disciplinary Home First team who currently work closely with colleagues at University Hospital Hairmyres.
The Home First team’s work plays a crucial role in the implementation of the planned date of discharge (PDD) programme, which aims to establish a clear date of when someone will go home (or to a community setting) – at the earliest possible stage during their stay in hospital. By providing a clear route-map through the hospital ‘journey’, PDD will contribute to reducing uncertainty and anxiety on the part of individuals and their carers/families.
Building on a well-established spirit of partnership working between all key agencies, over £4 million is now being invested to recruiting health and social care staff and so enable the further expansion of Home First across South Lanarkshire.
Mr Sengupta added: “Our staff work exceptionally hard – and challenge themselves – to do their best to ensure that people across South Lanarkshire receive the right care in the right place at the right time.
“That ambition has been significantly tested through the pandemic and across the last few months in particular.
“The significant investment in our Home First approach – with its accompanying expansion of our community workforce – will strengthen their and our ability to deliver transformed care as we move through 2022 and beyond.”
Councillor John Bradley, Chair of the South Lanarkshire IJB, said: “Alongside coping with the unrelenting pressures of the pandemic, our staff and partners remain committed to developing and embracing leading edge models of care today – which are fit for all our tomorrows.
“The detailed work that has been and is being undertaken to scale up Home First is a testament to their tremendous fortitude and foresight – which can only be applauded.”
Various practical steps that have been put in place during an initial, formal phase to deliver Home First approach include:
• The establishment of a small but focused multi-disciplinary Home First team in University Hospital Hairmyres dovetailing with the work of a hospital-based social work team.
• Funding is being used consolidate the teams and create permanent backfill for those who were redeployed.
• Their work plays into the implementation of the planned date of discharge (PDD) programme, which aims to establish a clear date of when someone will go home (or to a community setting) – at the earliest possible stage during their stay in hospital. By providing a clear route-map through the hospital ‘journey’, PDD is geared to reducing any uncertainty and anxiety. The programme, which has also seen a substantial reduction in delayed discharge rates in the pilot phase, is now live in University Hospitals Wishaw, Monklands and Hairmyres. Members heard how the work on Lanarkshire is also action as a national ‘pathfinder’ site exemplifying good practice. More information can be found at: https://www.slhscp.org.uk/news/article/194/when_can_i_go_home_partnership_hospital_programme_providing_answers_to_fundamental_question
• In the community, additional nursing staff have been recruited to boost the capacity of the integrated community support teams (ICSTs) in South Lanarkshire. The ICST – made up of staff from NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Council – aims to prevent unnecessary hospital or care home admissions and reduce the length of stay in hospital.
• A rolling programme to expand local Care at Home capacity through recruitment and retention of staff.
The full agenda pack for South Lanarkshire’s Integration Joint Board is available at: https://www.slhscp.org.uk/downloads/file/288/sl_ijb_meeting_papers_25_january_2022
Highlights from the South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) meeting held on 25 January can be found at: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/slhscp/downloads/file/292/sl_ijb_brief_jan_25
