Community Care and Its Objectives
Community care in the UK involves providing community-led health and social care, including specialist services, personal care, and social support. This wide range of services is available to children and adults, including people with long-term health needs, disabilities, and mobility challenges. To protect people who require complex care from neglect and abuse, the primary legal framework has been provided by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. The framework improves people’s life opportunities, protects their physical and mental health, and creates greater independence and social inclusion.
The main objectives of community care include:
Promoting Independence and Dignity
The main objective of community care is to help people live independently in their own homes, close to the people and things they love. The objective also includes providing reliable support and primary and secondary care to people with mental health needs, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mobility challenges.
Preventing Social Isolation
By supporting people to live more independently in their homes and communities, community care directly helps them be more socially involved to avoid social isolation. This objective can be achieved through various services such as home adaptations, home care, and occupational, educational, cultural and recreational activities.
Supporting Carers
Community care recognises the leading role of healthcare professionals and carers in supporting people at home. One of the main reasons this objective is so crucial in health and social care is that it focuses on providing the right services for carers, such as respite care and other support services, to help carers manage their responsibilities more efficiently.
Improving System Productivity
Investments in community and place-based care can significantly increase system productivity. Community care investments reduce acute demand in hospitals. For instance, shifting care from hospitals to community care can save integrated care systems (ICS) substantial amounts, with an average saving of £26 million for a typical-sized ICS.
Reducing Hospital and Emergency Activity
According to an analysis conducted by the NHS, areas that invest more in community care see lower levels of hospital and emergency activity. It has been proven that systems that spent more on community-based care experienced 15% lower on-elective admission rates and 10% lower ambulance conveyance rates, along with lower average activity for elective admissions and A&E attendance. This community-led change brings more positive experiences in people’s lives.
Ensuring Seamless Transitions of Care
Smooth transitions from hospital care to community care involve post-discharge care planning, long-term needs assessments and a personalised approach. Comprehensive care planning and coordination are essential to minimise the risks associated with hospital readmissions and to foster recovery.
When it’s finally time for people to leave the hospital, the transition is anything but simple. We are asking people to step out of highly clinical and often distressing environments and reintegrate into home life, which may involve a new house, new care teams, and sometimes a location far from their families. Even with the best intentions, this can be a deeply unsettling and daunting process. For anyone, such a shift would be incredibly challenging, let alone for someone already managing complex challenges. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that receiving care at home in familiar, comfortable surroundings makes people feel more safe and supported, which is essential for healing.
Addressing Health Inequalities
Marginalised groups in society have been historically disempowered, and traditional service keeps on failing to provide the right care for all. When speaking of providing care and support for all people, community care continuously develops and utilises local community assets, uses participatory methods, and addresses barriers to engagement to improve health and well-being.
Community-centred practice is what protects and supports people who find themselves discriminated against, excluded from society or at risk of poor health due to extreme poverty. This is why communities matter because there is a sense of connection that strives to create more cohesive communities. It gives voice to people to have a more significant say in how they lead their lives, and supports their health and social needs.
The Benefits of Community Care
The shift towards community care arises from recognising the value of people living in their own homes and communities, where they can maintain their social networks and a sense of enriched life. The community-based approach is humane and aligns with the broader determinants of health, including social, environmental, and economic factors contributing to a person’s quality of life.
Community care is made effective, person-centred, and sustainable through the efforts of primary care providers, local authorities, and primary care settings, each contributing in its own capacity. General practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals (primary care providers) achieve this through continuity of care, holistic care coordination, and mental health support. Meanwhile, local authorities play their part by overseeing commissioning and funding, integrating social care, safeguarding, and managing housing and accommodation.
The benefits of community care are extensive and include:
- Improvement in health and overall well-being
- Maintained wellness and healthy lifestyles
- Significant savings for healthcare systems by reducing acute demand on hospitals
- Reduced hospitalisation
- Seamless transitions and a smooth hospital discharge
- Social support
- Cultural and spiritual support
- Support for marginalised groups
Leaf Complex Care is fully involved as social care providers in supporting people’s choices in improving their health outcomes, quality of life and increased satisfaction with ongoing care.
Please take a moment, listen to Mitch’s story, and experience the power of community care.
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Changes in Care Delivery Models
Historically, healthcare systems have operated in silos, with primary, secondary, and tertiary care services often functioning independently of one another. This disjointed approach has led to gaps in care, duplication of services, and a lack of continuity for people requiring complex social care. As the amount of people living with chronic health challenges has increased and the population has aged, the limitations of this model have become increasingly apparent.
Health and social care as we know it is under a profound transformation. Central to this transformation are integrated care and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), which represent a paradigm shift in how care is delivered.
Focus on Integrated Care
Integrated care models prioritise enhanced coordination and continuity across various providers and care settings, resulting in more seamless, personalised, and comprehensive treatment plans to meet each person’s needs. It also involves providers working together across specialities, ensuring that people understand their care from various specialists.
The coordination of care, alongside reliable communication and information sharing, establishes a seamless system in which people feel supported, heard, and well-informed throughout each stage of their journey.
⇒ Read more about integrated care and its key components.
Multidisciplinary Teams
Leaf Complex Care’s multidisciplinary in-house therapy team enhances community care by offering tailored interventions, crisis support, and holistic, person-centred care. The team, which includes Positive Behaviour Support Practitioners, Occupational Therapists, and Speech and Language Therapists, collaborates to create bespoke care plans that address each person’s needs.
Leaf Complex Care’s crisis intervention techniques provide timely support during mental health emergencies. This coordinated approach to care ensures that all professionals involved are aligned with the person’s goals and preferences. By engaging families and providing ongoing training to support workers, Leaf Complex Care empowers people and enhances their quality of life and overall well-being in community care settings.
⇒ Read more about our multidisciplinary team’s expertise.
Who Will Benefit from Community Care?
Community care, which brings together health and social services within local communities, has garnered considerable attention as a way to improve public health and address the social determinants of health. Policymakers are promoting greater collaboration between health and social care providers and other sectors to enhance health outcomes and equity. While this approach has a long history, the impact of cross-sector partnerships on health outcomes still needs to be fully understood, with mixed evidence regarding their effectiveness.
Community care offers numerous advantages to the healthcare system, enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving health and social outcomes.
People and Families
One of the primary advantages of community care services is the encouragement of improved overall well-being, particularly for older adults. These services enable people to stay in their homes and maintain their daily routines, enhancing their autonomy and dignity. This approach promotes healthy ageing and lessens the demand for institutional care, helping families remain together and reducing the emotional stress that often comes with separation.
Additionally, community care provides social support, which is crucial for mental and emotional health. Families benefit from the connections formed within their communities, leading to an enriched network of resources and shared experiences that can alleviate feelings of isolation. Community care also promotes personalised support, carefully tailored to meet each person’s unique needs and preferences, ensuring they receive the proper support suited to their lifestyle. Adopting this tailored approach leads to better health outcomes and enables families to participate actively in the care process.
The Healthcare System
Community care is cost-effective, especially in delivering mental health services. It offers a more affordable and advantageous option for people with mental health support needs when compared to institutional care, as it optimises health outcomes while reducing costs. In addition to cost-effectiveness and economic efficiency, the health system benefits from community-based care in the following areas:
Reduced hospital readmissions
Holistic and preventive care in general practice
Enhanced collaboration and data sharing
Workforce development and resource allocation
⇒ Read more about considering people’s human rights when discharge planning.
Impact on Healthcare Professionals
Community Health Workers (CHWs) are crucial in bridging the gap between healthcare systems and communities, particularly in underserved areas. They enhance the management of chronic health challenges, improve access to preventive services, and enrich people’s experiences, all of which contribute to improved health outcomes and lower healthcare costs. CHWs offer essential assistance by accompanying people to appointments, supporting them with medication management, providing emotional support, and educating people about health matters and the healthcare system.
Nevertheless, they encounter several challenges, including high workloads, safety concerns, limited resources, and cultural barriers, which can hinder their effectiveness in delivering care. It is vital to tackle these issues to ensure the sustainability of CHW programmes and to optimise their beneficial impact on community healthcare and health equity.
⇒ Read more about How to Enhance Role Satisfaction Among Support Workers in Social Care.
At Leaf Complex Care, we understand that every moment of care is important, so we are always available 24/7 to support your needs.
Contact us today for an initial assessment so we can create a personalised care plan that fits your needs. Our offices are located in Bristol, South East, Birmingham and Somerset.
