How many times have you heard?
“Thank you for calling (or coming to see me), what seems to be the problem? How long has this been going on for? Who have you seen so far? What have they told you and can you tell me about the treatment?” The follow up comments are usually, “Thank you for coming, I will request your records, and we can discuss it the next time we meet”. Or, “We are just waiting for them to… or…Sorry we can’t do that until.. Or.. Yes, it should have been ready by now, I will ask my team to contact them again”

The result? Children, parents and grandparents can be left in the hospital for weeks for example: until the rehabilitation centre is ready, or until the house is assessed, modified or made safe before the person can be returned to their home. Worse still, people are persuaded to go home early but they cannot cope or they become ill again and end up back at the doctor or in hospital.

In the UK health and social care services have been fragmented for decades and made worse by expensive IT systems that support failed admin processes. Why does it feel like no one knows what the other organisation is doing? Local GPs have become health centres and clinics. My GP does not know my name and health is delivered through apps, call centre queues, forms followed by a call back and complicated processes.

Organisations are funded separately, operate independently, have different rules and do not fully share or delegate through a local patient focused service.

Why is it difficult for carers to follow a care pathway, (a map of the events and care that someone receives and when we fall ill)? They can be found on government websites, local councils; and the NHS and care organisations are supposed to follow them.

In the real world, when you leave your home you would already know where you are going and you would have a mental map and then use the satnav, street signs, pointers or signposts along the way.

Health and social care is the same. It is not rocket science. So why does it go wrong for so many people?

We are setting up a local pilot called CareConcierge. It is community driven by people in our neighbourhoods who can help us get the most from independent care organisations, council and NHS services.
CC will enable more vulnerable residents to have simpler access and more control, leading to quicker and better care between hospitals, councils and providers of related services.