Skills for Care’s latest campaign focuses on making integrated care happen.
The workforce development charity says that integration between our health and social care systems is vital if people are to receive seamless services that offer higher-quality, person-centred care.
That’s why their ‘Making integration happen’ campaign aims to support social care providers to understand, promote and work with integrated care systems (ICS).
The campaign, running throughout July, will focus on what integration means, why it’s important and how social care providers can engage with their ICS and the benefits of doing so.
Integrated care systems should be ‘self-improving’
Skills for Care’s campaign has been introduced to support a key recommendation from the Hewitt Review, published in 2023.
The independent review of integrated care systems, carried out in November 2022, recommended that ICSs should become ‘self-improving’ systems. The ‘Making integration happen’ campaign will therefore look at the ways and support available to providers working together at a local level to “build relationships, understanding and a shared focus on delivering better outcomes for those being supported.”
Skills for Care will be providing useful campaign resources, links and information to support and promote health and social care integration and they will also share practical tips, exercises and insight on integrated care services. They are also publishing case studies of successful integrated care services from across the sector.
You can stay updated on the campaign and share your own insights about integration in care using the hashtag #IntegratedCare on social media channels.
Skills for Care will also be hosting a webinar at 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th July entitled ‘System approaches to support delegated healthcare.’ You can register for your space online.
Integrated care offers ‘real opportunities’ to the workforce
As Skills for Care launched the campaign, their CEO Oonagh Smyth said it was about “empowering social care providers to engage with their ICS, and highlighting the many benefits that collaboration brings.”
She added:
“It will also enable adult social care to be better understood across the whole system, by explaining its value and the data describing the makeup of the sector.
“People are more likely to feel supported when services are well coordinated and focused on their needs. That sounds easy to do – but how do you do it? Well, it really helps when people working in health and people working in social care take time to understand one another’s challenges and feel like they are working towards a common goal. This allows us to focus more on prevention, including reducing hospital admissions and delivering support tailored to individual needs from the outset.”
Speaking of the benefits of integrated care, Ms Smyth also commented:
“Integration benefits not just those being supported but can present real opportunities to those working in social care. Coordination and collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, whether through unified workforce planning or joint recruitment and training efforts, supports a better understanding between health and care professionals, making care services run smoother and opening potential career opportunities for people working across both health and social care.”
Training essential for health and social care staff
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider.
They deliver over 6,000 courses each year in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, food safety, mental health, health and social care and other special focus topics.
Their diverse portfolio includes training awards designed for care workers, such as Infection Control and Prevention, Safeguarding Adults, Duty of Care, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Person Centred Care and Support and many others.
Their course portfolio spans Care Certificate standards, mandatory training awards, clinical skills, special focus courses and higher level training for supervisors and managers.
A Trainer at FRT, says:
“Workers across the healthcare and adult social care sector must be supported to provide compassionate, person centred and dignified care for those who need it.
“Integrated care services can help them deliver proactive, coordinated care and support that is underpinned by all of these values. They need information, advice and support to understand and embrace integration and high-quality training to ensure they can provide the best care and support across seamless services.”
For more information on the training provided by FRT, please call them on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.