Teamwork will improve access to funded care

Blackburn with Darwen social care and NHS staff have joined forces to help more people receive the funded care they are entitled to.

One of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s social workers has relocated to Walshaw House in Colne, where the NHS Continuing HealthCare team for Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire is based so that they can work more effectively together. By working as one team they will be able to speed up the assessment process to establish whether people are eligible to receive NHS funding for packages of care.

Under Continuing Healthcare, people who are assessed as having a ‘primary health need’ – where their main need for care relates to their health – can have their healthcare and personal costs met, including care home fees, by the NHS.

The move is one of a number of ways in which the Council is working in partnership with the NHS to improve outcomes for local residents by planning and managing their health and social care needs together.

Cllr Mohammed Khan, the Council’s Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said:

“The process for establishing whether someone is entitled to receive Continuing Healthcare funding is very complex and involves assessment by a social worker or nurse, followed by a meeting of all the professionals involved with the patient and their family. The new arrangement means social workers and nurses will be able to work together, which will speed the process up and should improve the whole experience for families.”

Dr Chris Clayton, Clinical Chief Officer, Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said:

“Blackburn with Darwen residents rightly expect to receive patient care, that is consistent, integrated and high quality, and the creation of an integrated continuing healthcare team will ensure this happens.”