Health and Social Care Hubs

Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 23 October 2018.

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Photo of Caroline Dinenage Caroline Dinenage Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Health and social care hubs are a great example of health and care systems coming together through sustainability and transformation partnerships and integrated care systems to transform services in local areas. The NHS long-term plan will set out how we will enable and encourage better integration.

Photo of Luke Pollard Luke Pollard Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Fisheries, Flooding and Water)

The Minister will know that Plymouth is leading the way in developing health and social care wellbeing hubs. She will also know that we have bid for £15 million of funding to create more hubs across the city, especially in our city centre, to bring together NHS dentistry and dental schools, sexual and mental health support, social care and new forms of general practice. Will she do all that she can to look positively on that bid, so that we can help to improve our health outcomes?

Photo of Caroline Dinenage Caroline Dinenage Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I am really pleased that the hon. Gentleman has raised this issue. Plymouth is indeed leading the way in creating hubs and showing how incredibly valuable they are in bringing together all the relevant services in one place, not only to tackle people’s current healthcare needs but to play a vital role in prevention.

Photo of Derek Thomas Derek Thomas Conservative, St Ives

Health and social care hubs provide a real opportunity to ensure that patients are cared for in the right place, and it is vital for that to be extended to those who need palliative care. Can the Minister confirm that the NHS 10-year plan will adequately address the need for equal and appropriate access to palliative care across the country?

Photo of Caroline Dinenage Caroline Dinenage Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to mention this. Palliative care is crucial to the experience not only of patients but of their families and carers. He will be interested to know that we have a new indicator from 2018-19 to measure the proportion of people who have had three or more emergency admissions in their last 90 days of life, which will help us to assess how people can be better supported in the community, and to do that better.

Photo of Roberta Blackman-Woods Roberta Blackman-Woods Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities & Local Government) (Planning)

Social care hubs could be part of the way forward for social care, but, in response to a recent survey of care providers in my constituency, 71% said that despite the best efforts of staff the quality of care had greatly diminished because of years of chronic underfunding. Does the Minister agree that we need a systemic change in social care funding, given that the extra money provided so far is a drop in the ocean and does not address levels of need?

Photo of Caroline Dinenage Caroline Dinenage Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The hon. Lady is right. We know that the adult social care system is under pressure, which is why we are setting out a more sustainable future in the Green Paper which will be published later this year. It is, however, important to point out that more than 83% of adult social care providers are rated good or outstanding, and that, thanks to a range of Government actions, County Durham has received an additional £37 million for adult social care in 2018-19 and was allocated £2,822,376 in the recent winter funding announcement.