Services working together

Lots of people using social care get health care at the same time, so it is important for them to work well together. This is often called joined-up care.

We want to see this get much better, for example:

• hospitals need to work well with a person's GP when they come out of hospital
• children's and adult care services need to work well together when young people move from one to the other.

A smoother journey through care

People do not want to be passed along trying to get their needs met. They want services to work together so it feels like their care just carries on from one part to another without lots of paper work or "red tape".

The good things about working together

Working together is better for everyone:

• people like it more
• they stay healthier
• they get better quicker
• it helps keep people independent
• we all get more for the money.

The good things about this way of working are like those of person-centred care. These 2 ways of working go well together to make really good care.

Most of us are now living longer. This means there will be more older people and more people with the illnesses that older people can get.

So there will be a bigger need for good care from health care and social care services that people with these illnesses often need.

Supporting people to be more independent

When some people first come out of hospital they need some special support for just a short time to help them manage at home. This is called intermediate care.

This kind of support is also used to help older people to live independently in their own homes, instead of moving into a care home.

• the number of people getting this care has doubled since 2005
• 9 out of 10 people getting social care also get health care.