Burnham’s vision of whole-person care sees mental health at the heart of the NHS,
not relegated to the fringes, and the system ready to help people deal with growing
longevity and the many pressures of modern living and the move away from the
formerly traditional, ‘nuclear family’ model.
As Labour’s Alastair Campbell’s campaigning work has bravely shown, mental health
issues ripple through British society, in both the young and older generation. One in
four people in the UK are estimated to have mental health issues. Only this month
John Woodcock MP went public about his treatment for depression. Mental health
care should be a Cinderella service no more.
To eliminate gaps in health and social care, provision should be fully integrated. A
clear expectation to work in partnerships would provide opportunities to break down
boundaries in health and social care organisations, with joint responsibility for
assessments and sharing skills have been described as the ‘holy grail’ in the NHS and
should be more feasible in the future.
A Bristol Labour Party policy paper on this issue recently stated: ‘Key principles to
ensure this include: co-location of staff; standard geographical boundaries across all
relevant services; regular interdisciplinary meetings covering a geographical area.’
“To eliminate gaps in health and social care, provision should be
fully integrated”
But Vice-Chair of Bristol City Council’s Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny
Commission, Councillor Jenny Smith, warns: ‘the Health and Social Care Department
has been very slow to ensure the absorption of specialised workers. Many are being
placed in departments who have cultures that have not in the past identified the links
which are needed to ensure community health integration.
‘I am worried that staff moving over from the NHS will be isolated and that
mechanisms are not all in place to ensure initiatives of and the aim change are
achieved. At the same time, with the drastic cuts in staff and finances to departments,
there may well be a temptation to skim-off money from budgets that have come across
from the NHS. In short, there are worries about the capacity of the Authority to ensure
the changeover will protect some of the vital services coming into the Council, while at
the same time there are concerns about achieving truly integrated services.’
I hope to soon read the Burnham Report and see Labour re-nationalise the NHS when
next in government. We must repeal Cameron’s marketisation of the NHS, restoring
the legal basis of a national, democratically-accountable, collaborative health service.
revolutionise.it
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