wheelchair provision concerns

To help providers of health and social care services learn from the experience of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic across England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is carrying out rapid reviews of how providers are working collaboratively in local areas.

These Provider Collaboration Reviews (PCRs) will focus on 11 Integrated Care System (ICS) or Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) areas in England.

The reviews will support providers across systems by sharing learning, helping to drive improvements and prepare for future pressures on local health and care systems.

The CQC says health and care services can achieve better outcomes for people when they work together, with collaborative working between providers even more important during the coronavirus crisis.

To help maintain vital services and ensure people get the support they need, leading community equipment service (CES) providers and wheelchair services (WCS) providers have worked together to aid in the national effort to fight against coronavirus. These joint efforts have ensured continuity of essential assistive technology services and helped mitigate any user problems during the pandemic.

CQC’s ambition is to look at provider collaboration in all ICS and STP areas.

In carrying out its reviews, CQC will use data it holds and undertake conversations with providers and ICS and STP leaders. This will include the experiences of people who use services.

The first phase, between July and August, will see reviews in:

  • Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS
  • Norfolk and Waveney STP
  • The Black Country and West Birmingham STP
  • Lincolnshire STP
  • North East and North Cumbria ICS
  • Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS
  • Frimley Health and Care ICS
  • Sussex Health and Care Partnership ICS
  • North West London STP
  • One Gloucestershire ICS
  • Devon STP

These reviews will involve understanding the journey for people with and without coronavirus across health and social care providers. They will focus on the interface between health and adult social care for the over-65 population group.

Rosie Benneyworth, Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care said: “The speed and scale of the response required by the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits to services and the people who use them of creativity and innovation through collaborative approaches.

“Responses to the pandemic have offered opportunities for partnership working, ensuring shared efforts to avoid fragmentation and drive best experiences and outcomes for those accessing care within the system.

“These reviews will help identify where provider collaboration has worked well to the benefit of people who use services. Sharing that learning will help drive further improvements across systems.”

Review teams will feedback findings to areas following each review to help them plan ahead. Themes from the 11 reviews will be reported in September in CQC’s COVID Insight report and State of Care in October.

Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers, said: “We welcome this approach. It is good to see CQC adapting to reflect the changing environment and piloting different means of working with providers and their partners.

“One of the great achievements by trusts in response to COVID-19 was the way that they and their partners quickly developed new approaches, collaborating to confront the greatest challenge in the history of the NHS.

“We look forward to seeing details of how this has been done, and the lessons to be drawn from these initiatives to support more collaboration, and the CQC’s approach to regulation, in the future.”

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