Initial focus to be on how future website for health service can support social care of senior citizens
NHS Digital has begun a consultation on what social care information, notably for people aged over 65, should be included on the future NHS.UK website.
James Higgott, senior product manager in the organisation, has said it is running a 12-week process to understand the relevant information needs, and aiming to develop a proposal for how NHS.UK can best support social care.
The website is planned to replace NHS Choices, and the consultation amounts to a notable step in efforts to integrate health and social care.
Writing in a blogpost, Higgott says: “Health and care are interlinked and the various parts of the system are increasingly working more closely to provide more joined up services. Improvements in one area can lead to benefits elsewhere.”
He adds: “Our existing care and support guide demonstrates that there are some things that NHS.UK is ideally positioned to do at a national level. For example, if we publish generic advice and information it means that councils can syndicate this instead of each creating their own version.
“A role like this is in keeping with our remit as the national information and technology partner for the health and care system.”
The consultation is taking input from local authorities, government, charities, service providers, and the people receiving services and their carers.
The Care Act 2014 introduced a requirement for local authorities to provide “comprehensive information and advice about care and support services in their local area”.
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