Quality standard
Quality statement 6: Access to healthcare services
Quality statement 6: Access to healthcare services
Quality statement
Older people in care homes have access to the full range of healthcare services when they need them.
Rationale
Older people in care homes typically have greater and more complex health needs than those living in the community, and these needs can affect their wellbeing if they are not addressed. Many care home residents experience problems accessing NHS primary and secondary healthcare services, including GPs. It is important that care homes have good links with GPs and referral arrangements, so that services can be accessed easily and without delay when they are needed. This is essential to prevent unmet healthcare needs from having a negative impact on mental wellbeing.
Quality measures
Structure
Evidence of referral arrangements to ensure that older people in care homes are given access to the full range of healthcare services when they need them.
Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by provider organisations, for example from care pathways.
Outcome
Feedback from older people in care homes and from their family, friends and/or carers that they are satisfied with the care they have received.
Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by care professionals and provider organisations, for example from service user surveys.
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Organisations providing care ensure that they work in partnership with healthcare organisations to implement effective arrangements for access to primary, secondary, specialist and mental health services for older people in care homes.
Social care, health and public health practitioners facilitate access to primary, secondary, specialist and mental health services for older people in care homes by referring the person to the required service when they need it.
Local authorities and other commissioning services commission services from providers that can produce evidence of arrangements with local healthcare organisations which facilitate access to primary, secondary, specialist and mental health services for older people in care homes.
Older people in care homes can see their GP and use hospital services when they need them.
Source guidance
GP services for older people: a guide for care home managers. Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) guide 52 (2013), Residents' entitlements and requirements: access to quality GP services, protection of residents' rights; GPs' role in relation to the resident, the home and the wider NHS: the GP as point of access to primary and secondary care, managing relationships, role of nursing staff in facilitating joint working
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement
Care homes
This refers to all care home settings, including residential and nursing accommodation, and includes people accessing day care and respite care. [Expert opinion]
Healthcare services
These include primary care, and acute and specialist physical and mental health services. [SCIE's guide on GP services for older people: a guide for care home managers]
Equality and diversity considerations
When deciding if access to healthcare services is needed, staff working with older people in care homes should be aware of any learning disabilities, acquired cognitive impairments, communication and language barriers, sensory impairment, and cultural differences. Staff should ensure that they are aware of the needs and preferences of older people who are approaching the end of their life.
It is important that staff are aware that older people in care homes have the same right to access healthcare as people living independently in the community. This is stated in the NHS Constitution for England.