Care Pathway, supported by Age UK, wins HSJ award

An Integrated Care Pathway designed to help older people with long-term multiple conditions has won the HSJ award for Managing Long Term Conditions.

The Newquay Pathfinder, piloted by the Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group with the support of Age UK, provides joined up care across the NHS and social services, enabling older people to live a more independent life and helping them to stay out of hospital.
 
It brings together voluntary, health and care services to offer a combination of medical and non-medical support.

An Age UK staff member or highly trained volunteer acts as the key link,  listening to the older person's needs so that, together, they can draw up a care plan which suits their life and will help them maintain their health and wellbeing.

Quality of life of those on the pilot project is up 27%

NHS Kernow's Managing Director Joy Youart said: ‘It is about listening to the person's story and making everything fit around helping the person live the life they want to live.

'We are now able to wrap services around a person to ensure we are no longer just reactively responding to their needs but are instead helping them to manage their condition in their own homes.'
 
The pathway is in its infancy in that only 100 people in Cornwall have been helped so far. But the results are extremely promising.

The quality of life, confidence and wellbeing of those on the pilot project is up 27%, and there has been a 35% reduction in emergency hospital admissions. Furthermore, there has been a £4.40 return for each £1 invested.

Voluntary organisations can relieve the pressure on hospitals

Tom Wright, Chief Executive of Age UK said  ‘The Pathway not only shows how successful integrated care can be but also demonstrates the huge contribution voluntary organisations can make to improving and maintaining the health of older people and to relieving the pressures on hospitals.

'We've already started work on extending the model to other parts of the country and we believe it has the potential to radically improve the lives of many older people across the UK.'
 
Age UK Cornwall's Tracey Roose said, ‘We are working together to remove the barriers between health, social care and the voluntary sector to improve the quality of life of people in Penwith.

Pathway 'shows how successful integrated care can be'

'We have delivered some great results together in Newquay and we want to build on that experience to involve more partners and more older people in the west of Cornwall.'
 
The pathway is now being scaled up to include 1000 patients in Cornwall. Age UK is hoping to expand the pathway to three other regions by March 2014.

As part of this programme, Age UK is also modelling a new approach to evidencing cashable savings that could be used to secure a Social Impact Bond (SIB).