The Hewitt Review and Social Care

Those of you involved in Social Care might be interested to know how this was covered in the recent Hewitt Review.

Our earlier blog provided a helpful overview of the whole report.

The Executive Summary describes ICSs as representing the best opportunity in a generation for a transformation in our health and care system.

Key points to note in this are as follows:

• Patricia Hewitt welcomes the proposed data framework for adult social care outlined in Care Data Matters. She recommends that Adult Social Care providers should be fully involved in finalising the new framework.
• Building on this she recommends that NHSE, DHSC and ICSs work together to develop a minimum data sharing standards framework in order to improve intra- operability and data sharing across organisational barriers, particularly focussing on GP practices, social care provision and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector organisations.
• She agrees that social care providers should have a strong voice in every ICS and that each ICS should decide how best this is done.
• When CQC are assessing the maturity of an ICS this should include how social care is involved in the leadership of the system.
• If health and social care are to be effectively integrated and delivered at ICS level, social care needs to be a national priority for investment and workforce development, enabling delivery of the reforms of the Care Act 2014.
• She therefore urges an acceleration and expansion of existing work on understanding both need and the fair cost of care.
• The government is due to publish a long term workforce plan for the NHS imminently.  They should now produce a complementary strategy for the social care workforce as soon as possible.  That plan should set the strategic direction for a more integrated health and social care workforce.
• Shared training should be encouraged, together with the development of “passports” reflecting qualifications and experience that make it easier for people to work within the whole system rather than just one part of it.   
• The strategy should include integrated training and CPD for social care and NHS staff.
• Investment in workforce development in social care should be longer term.
• To speed up the onboarding of health and care staff and enable movement across the system where necessary, commissioners may consider requiring that providers maintain health and care workers DBS certification on the existing online database.

So, whilst nothing will happen this instant, there are lots of positive indicators in this report.