Pioneering new approach to social care & community equipment provision set for Scottish capital
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) has revealed plans to transform health and social care services in the Scottish capital, including the provision of community equipment.
Established in 2016, the EIJB oversee the resource and responsibility for planning health and social care functions for Edinburgh. The decision-making body produces its Strategic Plan every three years which sets out the vision, intent and strategic priorities for health and social care in the Scottish capital.
Starting in autumn 2019, EIJB is set to redesign and transform health and social care services in Edinburgh over the next three years through its Strategic Plan, with a focus on further integration of local authority and NHS services to shift “the balance of care from acute hospital services to the community and home under the principle of Home First.”
A key tenant of the new strategy, ‘Home First’ aims to promote recovery and rehabilitation of people at home in a bid to reduce the length of stays and number of occupied beds in hospitals, as well as to improve discharge times and patient experience in hospitals.
To achieve this push to increased independent living, the Board is examining a transformation of its community equipment model, reviewing and redesigning how vital equipment required to help people remain independent is provided in Edinburgh.
The community equipment review project will examine “the streamlining of all current processes and the introduction of a “future-proofed” strategy,” as well as evaluating storage, maintenance and delivery options and how the model engages with housing and different care models.
In addition, the report highlights the need to supply new and invest in existing homes to meet people’s health needs.
The Strategic Plan will dramatically shift how adult social care and support services across the city of Edinburgh, with the report emphasising that “the status quo is unsustainable in the longer term and consequently, our health and social care system must evolve and find new ways to meet these challenges.”
