Why is the Health and Social Care Integration Programme (HSCIP) needed?
The White Paper, ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ sets the vision for more integrated provision of health and social care services. Existing technology is acknowledged as a barrier to supporting a more joined up approach to health and social care provision and NHS Connecting for Health is working with the NHS and local social services to address this. These objectives were based on widespread consultation, involving over 100,000 individuals across the country for the Green Paper, ‘Your Health, Your Care, Your Say’. Social care integration was also identified as a priority in a widespread consultation about the National Programme for IT, involving both front-line practitioners and managers in the NHS and social services. The requirement is particularly pressing with the advent of Care Trusts where social workers are employed by the NHS and working in joint care teams.
