Pilot sites in England to test the impact of integrating health and social care

NHS and social services organisations in 16 pilot sites throughout England are set to work together in a government backed scheme which will explore how services for patients and service users can be improved by integration.

The £4m (€4.4m; $5.8m) scheme led by the Department of Health will assess the benefits of different models of care and identify where best practice could be rolled out.

The scheme has been designed to “look beyond traditional health and social care boundaries to explore how services for patients and service users can be improved.”

Each of the selected sites has already developed new methods to help respond to particular local health needs including dementia, care for the elderly, substance misuse, …