The Department of Health and Social Care has announced £126 million in funding to help support hospices in making improvements to IT systems and facilities, in what it has termed the “biggest investment into hospices in a generation”.
The funding is part of the government’s Plan for Change, aiming to ensure access for citizens to “high-quality end of life care”, to deliver “improved standards of care”, and to develop a health service that is “fit for the future”. It also factors into the 10 Year Health Plan’s aims to shift healthcare from hospitals and into the community.
According to the announcement, the investment will go toward the refurbishment of facilities, as well as improvements in buildings, equipment, accommodation, IT systems, and to “make it easier for GPs and hospitals to share vital data on patients”.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting highlighted the role of hospices in offering “the care and support for patients and families at the most difficult time”, adding that the funding package will “ensure they will be able to continue to deliver the compassionate care everyone deserves as they come to the end of their life in the best possible environment”.
Future models of care and developing a “fit for the future” health system with support from digital
In the last couple of months, the DHSC launched an open call for comment asking for feedback on the health service and sharing intentions to “have the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS”. The call is open to all including members of the public, healthcare professionals and organisations and asks participants to share experiences and opinions, with health and social care secretary Wes Streeting highlighting that the feedback will help shape the government’s work on its 10-year plan to “turn the NHS around”.
A HTN Now panel discussion from October took on the topic of digital integrated care. We were joined by experts from across the health sector, who discussed topics including approaches to tackling challenges from an ICS perspective; new models of care and pathway transformation; the role of technology in supporting the move from reactive to proactive care; and how a system approach can accelerate preventative care.
And in November, another HTN Now panel discussion on the Darzi report’s findings reflected on what is holding the NHS back from innovation; the challenges and missed opportunities; and the role of digital and tech in driving change, supporting a focus on prevention and promoting integrated care. The session covered four broad areas, unpicking the main findings and takeaways from the report and exploring ways of bringing its recommendations to life, including introductions and main takeaways from the Darzi report; taking actions to realise Darzi’s ambitions; shifting from “diagnose and treat” to “predict and prevent”; and realising digital integrated care and changes required in the short-term.
Why not join us in the new year for an upcoming panel discussion on the ways that digital can support NHS reforms, looking at modernising services, digital for shifting healthcare from hospital to community, and the role of digital in facilitating the shift from analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. Scheduled for 23 January 2025, 11:00 – 12:00, the session will debate priorities, the challenges faced, capacity and demand, wait lists, as well as the role of integrated care systems in supporting ambitions in this space.
