The British Thoracic Society (BTS) and the Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) recently published a joint Position Statement on Integrated Care in Respiratory.
BTS and PCRS are key membership organisations that represent and support all respiratory healthcare professionals working in the NHS across the UK.
Integrated respiratory care is patient-centred and focused on the co-ordination of the multi-professional team working together to deliver high-quality care that is accessible and takes into account physical and mental health, housing and social care. It aims to improve health outcomes, tackle complex challenges and inequalities in the provision of healthcare, and prevent avoidable hospital admissions.
The Position Statement states that while each organisation has, and will retain, its own range of initiatives to support the provision of integrated care, both organisations share common priorities and have identified the following common goals;
- To support pathways of care that help people to stay well and live independently and avoid unnecessary admission to hospital.
- To support improved patient experience by advocating a whole person approach to planning and delivering respiratory care.
- To support improved outcomes for patients and address health inequalities (which includes levelling outcomes, improved access to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up).
- To support workforce recruitment and retention models that highlight the need for the multi-professional respiratory workforce to have sufficient capacity to integrate effectively.
The Statement is aimed at all respiratory healthcare professionals across primary and secondary care, including those involved with the planning and commissioning of services. It also includes a five-part high level model for use by respiratory teams, highlighting practical steps to help ensure the success of integrated respiratory healthcare.
Access the Position Statement on Integrated Care here.