[EQ] Nuffield Trust report - Health Policy Futures

 

ENGAGING WITH CARE

A VISION FOR THE HEALTH AND CARE WORKFORCE OF ENGLAND

 

Sandra Dawson, Zoë Slote Morris, Will Erickson, Graham Lister, Beth Altringer, Pam Garside, Marian Craig
The Nuffield Trust, UK 2007

 

Available online as PDF file [90p] at: http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/ecomm/files/Engaging_with_Care.pdf

 

Summary PDF [6p.] at: http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/uploadedFiles/EWC-Summary.pdf

 

“……Health and care needs in England will change dramatically over the next 15 years, but the people we recruit and train and the facilities we build now will still be part of the landscape in 15 years’ time. The decisions we take now will affect health and care in 2022. While it is impossible to forecast with precision, we can imagine possible futures and plan policy directions accordingly.

 

Several factors point toward a looming crisis in the provision of care, including:

• an ageing population

• increasing chronic disease

• greater expectations for health and wellbeing

• increasing demand for care

• greater strains on public finance

• an anticipated shortfall in informal carers

• a possible decline in community support and ‘volunteerism’

• conflicting views and increasing anxiety about emphasising self-care

• problems of recruitment and motivation of formal employed carers.

This Nuffield Trust report, part of the Health Policy Futures series, explores the development of three possible scenarios of the English health and care system in 2022. Each scenario is associated with a different type of engagement with health and care and is shaped by different sets of policies.

• The engaged consumer in a health system shaped by transactions between paid and unpaid participants.

• The engaged worker in a health system shaped by leading engagement with those who provide care, including informal and self-carers, as well as paid employees.

• The engaged citizen in a health system which minimises the causes of illness and maximises wellbeing through fully engaging citizens and their communities.

 

The scenarios are not mutually exclusive. The main issue is not which of these scenarios is most desirable, but how to achieve an appropriate balance between diverse imperatives. The authors report that several common assumptions emerged:

• change in the health and care system must continue, but at a pace that allows workforces to be engaged

• To be effective, system change must be accompanied by cultural change, so the engagement of workforces in the design and
   implementation of reform is essential

• policy must be refocused on the improvement of health and wellbeing

• special measures will be needed to address disadvantage and social isolation

• the dominant model of health and care should be recognised as long-term care

• leadership will be required at every level in the system and in the community.

The authors highlight conclusions for action for policymakers, health and care leaders, educators, workers and members of the public.

Four key messages are highlighted:

• individuals, families and communities – particularly those who are disadvantaged – need to feel empowered and supported
   to take control of their health, wellbeing and care

• political central control must be disengaged from local solutions and local governance

• system change must be supported by changes in education and training

• a basic insurance package for the 21st century must be defined….”

 

 

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