A more robust and structured approach to self-management training and support for people with long-term conditions is long overdue, says self management uk.
Following the publication of the House of Commons’ Health Committee report – Managing the care of people with long–term conditions – which recognises the lack of specific plans to manage long-term conditions, self management uk is urging NHS England to include self-management training as a key element of the care pathway of every patient diagnosed with a long-term condition as early as possible after diagnosis.
The report said: “NHS England plan for 2014/15 to 2018/19 includes objectives in several areas relevant to the management of long-term conditions but does not specifically address their management. We recognise that NHS England does not wish to take a prescriptive approach to the development of a national strategy for long-term conditions.”
It added: “We are nevertheless concerned that national policies on the commissioning and management of health and care services for 15 million people with long-term conditions are being developed without the benefit of a clear and coherent indication of how NHS England plans to meet the Government’s policy objectives in this area set out in The Mandate.”
With the bill to treat patients with long-term conditions predicted to soar £4 billion more each year by 2016, healthcare professionals and policy makers can no long ignore the benefits of self-management training and support to patients as well as the savings it can deliver to the NHS. “We recognise the benefits to the patient and to the health and care system of robust support for self-management of long-term conditions”, stated the report.
It also emphasised that focusing on treating fewer people with long-term conditions in hospitals, without ensuring primary and secondary community care services are geared up to management the care of people with long-term conditions, is “a recipe for disaster”.
Renata Drinkwater, chief executive, self management uk, said: “The report rightly points out that what the Government and NHS England should be addressing are the factors which drive people with long-term conditions into acute hospitals through A&E in the first place. From our experience of supporting thousands of patients, we know that patients who self-manage use less NHS resources in the long-term. In fact, evidence shows that A&E admissions can be reduced by 12%, inpatient visits by 50%, outpatient visits by 6.2% and medication use by 5.4%[i].
“This is no small reduction, considering that 70% of the NHS budget is used to look after patients with long-term conditions. According to our proprietary return on investment model, which has been designed to help commissioners to plan resource allocation and target patients who are most likely to benefit from self-management, the NHS in England could produce net savings in excess of £763 million by referring around 10% of patients with long-term conditions to self-management training.”
Unfortunately, as information presented in the report highlighted “many people were receiving no help at all in the day-to-day management of their condition”, despite evidence that supports benefits to patients and cost-effectiveness of self-management interventions.
Our own survey[ii] revealed that 48% of patients wait longer than five years to receive self-management training, even though 62% of patients say that that ‘getting the right advice to support me in managing my condition’ would improve their quality of life.
Ms Drinkwater added: “This is a critical time for the NHS and self-management is clearly a key element in caring and treating people with long-term conditions. The Health Committee made some very pertinent recommendations, including that NHS England set out clearly the changes it considers necessary to better support people with long-term conditions. We firmly believe self-management training and support should form part of these changes.”
ENDS.
Notes to Editors:
[i] Figures were extrapolated from data published in The National Evaluation of the Pilot Phase of the Expert Patient Programme. Rogers et.l. December 2006.
[ii] https://www.selfmanagementuk.org/blog/2013/10/patients-long-term-conditions-wait-years-self-management-support
