This report focusses on meeting the needs of working-age disabled adults as health and social care services are increasing integrated. It provides an empirical evidence base to demonstrate how whole person care (which is about making the connections between physical health, mental health and social care services) can be used to effectively meet these needs. The report also draws on the findings of a focus group with 12 disabled adults and carers on desired outcomes from the integration of health and social care services. Interviews with social care and voluntary sector professionals, commissioners and local authority policy to see if they are willing to include working-age disabled adults' needs in plans for future integration. The report looks at how working-age disabled adults have different needs and outcomes from older people and identifies the health inequalities they face in day-to-day life. Ten dimensions of health inequality are identified including housing, employment, financial security and quality of life. The report makes seven recommendations to inform the service response, including: taking a long term view of managing long-term conditions, viewing whole person care as a 10-year journey with matched by stable funding; debates on funding gap in social care should give consideration to the needs of working-age disabled adults; shifting resources from case management to community coordinated care to support prevention and providing a single point of contact for health and social care needs; service integration should take place across a much wider range of services to meet the needs of disabled people.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This report focusses on meeting the needs of working-age disabled adults as health and social care services are increasing integrated. It provides an empirical evidence base to demonstrate how whole person care (which is about making the connections between physical health, mental health and social care services) can be used to effectively meet these needs. The report also draws on the findings of a focus group with 12 disabled adults and carers on desired outcomes from the integration of health and social care services. Interviews with social care and voluntary sector professionals, commissioners and local authority policy to see if they are willing to include working-age disabled adults' needs in plans for future integration. The report looks at how working-age disabled adults have different needs and outcomes from older people and identifies the health inequalities they face in day-to-day life. Ten dimensions of health inequality are identified including housing, employment, financial security and quality of life. The report makes seven recommendations to inform the service response, including: taking a long term view of managing long-term conditions, viewing whole person care as a 10-year journey with matched by stable funding; debates on funding gap in social care should give consideration to the needs of working-age disabled adults; shifting resources from case management to community coordinated care to support prevention and providing a single point of contact for health and social care needs; service integration should take place across a much wider range of services to meet the needs of disabled people.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
adults, integrated services, health inequalities, outcomes, social care, health care, financing, integrated care, user views, service development, adult social care, long term conditions, disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health problems, sensory impairments, physical disabilities;