Dr Niamh Lennox-Chhugani chats with Orla Snook O’Carroll about her recent publication “Legislating for integrated care in the UK: Lessons from abroad.”
The UK Government’s recently published White Paper Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all which applies to England, prompted us to think about what lessons we could share from other systems legislative change initiatives as the government develops the detail of the Bill and local health and care systems prepare for the changes to come.
As the White Paper rightly acknowledges, “the legal framework for the health and care system should be like any operating system – the sort of thing you tend not to notice when it is working well” (Section 2.2). Equally “legislative change can bring real benefits when it helps to remove barriers, provide flexibility and clarify roles”.
We ask: What can be learnt from other countries legislative changes about creating an enabling environment for integration to happen where it needs to – at the front-line of person-centred care?