Better Care Fund

Download our latest 2016/17 Better Care Fund Plan (PDF 1.4MB)

The Better Care Fund Plan is joint plan between us and local health services to improve the ways adult social care and health services work together, starting with services for older people and people with long term conditions. Our plan sets out our shared vision for health and social care in Central Bedfordshire, rooted in a locality-based delivery model. It describes the agreed strategic approach based with four programmes for delivering integrated care and improved outcomes for older people in Central Bedfordshire.

Our Better Care Fund Plan is ambitious and builds on work already taking place across the four localities in Central Bedfordshire: Ivel Valley, West Mid Beds, Chiltern Vale and Leighton-Linslade.

It recognises the importance of shifting resources from hospital-based care to more community-based care. This is to secure improved health and care experience, more cost effective use of resources and is a key milestone in moving towards integration of health and social care services.

Download the diagram (PDF 326.8KB) which outlines our shared vision for delivering improved outcomes.

The plan has been informed by the views of patients, carers, service users and the people who work with them. It sets out a clear vision of how we will improve services by the better coordination of information, staff and money on the priority areas for Central Bedfordshire.

The 2015/16 Better Care Fund Plan (PDF 3.1MB) recognised the importance of shifting resources from hospital-based care to more community-based care in order to secure improved health and care experience and more cost effective use of resources. The four priority programmes outlined in the plan are:

1. reshaping our prevention and early intervention model – through a joined-up approach to primary, secondary and tertiary prevention to stop or reduce people’s health deteriorating
2. supporting people with long term conditions through multi-disciplinary working – focusing services around general practice in locality networks and helping people to manage their own conditions in the community
3. expanding the range of services which support older people with frailty and disabilities – integrating the range of housing, mobility, carers and other services which wrap around older people with specific conditions and issues
4. restructuring our integrated care pathways for those with urgent care needs – ensuring that these are seamless, clear and efficient to help deliver the clinical shift required to move care away from acute settings, where appropriate

Our revised 2016/17 Better Care Fund Plan (PDF 1.4MB) built on our 2015/16 plan and remained consistent with the priorities and outcomes of the Health and Wellbeing Board. The overarching ambition for integration is to secure a fundamental shift in the ways in which care and support is provided to residents of Central Bedfordshire, in four localities:

• Ivel Valley
• West Mid Beds
• Chiltern Vale
• Leighton Linslade

Delivery of the Better Care Fund Plan will ensure that people:

• experience seamless access to a coordinated offer of health and care support in good time
• have access to a wider range of support to prevent ill-health, focusing more on early interventions supported by voluntary, community and long-term condition groups, enabling you to stay healthier for longer
• be supported to remain independent with integrated GP and community teams delivering care directly within your own home wherever it is possible to do so
• have access to a wider range of health and care services in the community that will help to avoid unnecessary hospital admission and, following any necessary admission, will enable discharge to home care as soon as it is safe to do so
• have access to mental health services that are integrated with physical health and social care services (including acute, primary, community and specialist teams and linked to lifestyle hubs)
• have access to rehabilitation and reablement services that will avoid or reduce the need for you to go into a residential or nursing home
• experience less variations in care with better outcomes
• have support for carers that is timely and person-centred, so that joint planning and assessment makes our response more appropriate to their needs
• experience services that are person-centred, highly responsive and flexible, designed to deliver what is important to you
• benefit from stream-lined and integrated working between us, health and voluntary providers, using joint information systems

Integraton and Better Care Fund Plan, 2017 - 2019

Download Integration and Better Care Fund Plan, 2017 - 2019 (PDF 1.2MB)