NHS England is interested in improving cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory services. In the next decade, we should expect that everyone with heart disease, stroke, COPD and cancer – in addition to hip fracture – be provided with rehabilitation compliant with NICE recommendations.
Rehab matters - to patients, their families and carers, and to the system as a whole.
It gives life back to people after injury or illness and reduces their need for health and social care services in the future.
But at present, access to it is inconsistent across the country, causing unacceptable consequences for too many patients.
What we’re calling for in the plan:
- Everyone with a long-term condition or leaving hospital should be provided with an expert rehabilitation assessment of their ongoing physical and mental health needs.
- Community-based rehabilitation services must be available for all people with moderate to severe needs.
- These services would be best delivered through the integration of condition-specific services in community hubs.
- To improve service planning, a community data set needs to be introduced that covers all rehabilitation services whether in primary, community or acute care.
- NHS England should reintroduce a national clinical director for rehabilitation.
The CSP says:
‘The NHS is now exceptional at keeping people alive but we must do more to ensure the lives that are saved are worth living.
‘Rehabilitation services do that and it is essential that in the next decade we witness a radical transformation in provision to ensure no-one misses out.’
Read more about our condition-specific calls: