VODG calls for central role in NHS amid cuts and uncertainty
VODG members are calling for the voluntary sector to be recognised as central to the NHS and health system. The message is outlined in a new publication that describes the reasons for closer partnership.
In the paper – What can the voluntary sector do to encourage greater engagement and collaboration with the health system? (PDF, 2.5Mb)– the latest in a thought leadership series, VODG describes the challenges and solutions to more joined up approaches to health and care. The publication is based on a recent VODG debate between chief executive and senior directors alongside health leaders which investigated opportunities for partnership between health and voluntary groups.
The need for such alignment is the subject of the recent joint review of partnerships and investment relating to voluntary organisations in the health and social care sector. Today’s paper notes that collaboration is even more vital amid ongoing funding cutsand post-Brexit-related uncertainties relating to workforce, funding, policy and legislation. In addition, the vanguard sites under NHS England’s five year forward viewaim to deliver more integrated services while Greater Manchester and Cornwall are among the first areas to win devolution and the chance to reshape local and regional health, care and support.
Among the challenges to closer working is the relationship with health commissioners, many of whom often regard the voluntary organisations as a fragmented group. Health commissioners, today’s paper notes, are also inclined to focus on the traditional “medical model” of support rather than consider community-based provision.
Actions that voluntary care providers could take to move closer to health include:
- using “health-sector friendly” language to support greater engagement (ditching social care jargon, for example, or acknowledging the pressures on A&E)
- arguing the potential of the Social Value Act (which means commissioners should take into account social and environmental value when choosing support providers)
- taking a collective stance with peers (those doing similar work in the same geographical area) to clarify the benefits of the voluntary sector to health partners
- encouraging trustees to take a more proactive role in building bridges with health, and raising the profile of social care and the voluntary sector.