Anticipatory Care is proactive care and support for people living with frailty, multiple long-term conditions and/or complex needs. It helps people to stay healthy and independent and to avoid the need for a hospital stay or visit.
Prevention is key to Anticipatory Care, and it aims to reduce the risk of long term health conditions worsening that would result in an individual needing a hospital visit or stay.
It also focusses on what is important to supporting and caring for those who are most at risk of poorer health issues in the future and enables a wide variety of co-ordinated health and care support to be provided depending on individual needs.
Anticipatory Care is an important part of achieving the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment of supporting people to age well.
To help achieve this for people in Lincolnshire, Anticipatory Care has four main aims:
- improving population health outcomes
- improving people’s experience of care
- improving staff experience of delivering care
- providing the best care at the right price for the population of Lincolnshire
A number of organisations and services are working together to deliver Anticipatory Care including:
- Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
- Community health services
- Social care
- Mental health teams
- Community pharmacy
- Housing sector
- Voluntary sector
- Community partners
Many people stand to benefit from Anticipatory Care and there is strong evidence that care outcomes and experiences can be improved for people of all ages. In particular, older people living with frailty and/or long term health conditions, adults living with multiple health conditions and/or disability and those who are approaching the end of their life.
The delivery of Anticipatory Care will be joined up and co-ordinated. Professional primary and community health services as well as health and social care services staff speak with one another to ensure this and to achieve the best health outcomes for the individual.
Anticipatory Care focuses on what is important to the person; providing the right care at the right time that improves health and enables people to live more independent and healthy lives for longer. This helps prevent rapid health deterioration and individuals reaching crisis point where they might need reactive health care such as emergency hospital admission.
People are our most important consideration, and as such we want to work with individuals to co-design their own Anticipatory Care plans. Their input and involvement is crucial to the success of Anticipatory Care so that it supports all of their health and care needs.
We will provide care for individuals at home and/or in their local community to prevent their condition getting worse so that they do not need unplanned hospital visits and/or stays.
Anticipatory Care will help enable us to improve health inequalities and to benefit the health outcomes for the population of Lincolnshire.
Yes, people who are selected for Anticipatory Care will be given a greater involvement when they want it in decisions about their own care. They will be able to meet and speak with staff and other professionals to help design their own care and support plans.
This personalised approach will focus on enabling people to take greater control of their own health. Individual’s involvement is crucial to ensure the right services are put in place to improve patient care in Lincolnshire.
Individuals will be advised by their clinician and/or other professionals involved in their care, about when Anticipatory Care will be available and whether it will be appropriate for them.
Care home residents with multiple or complex long-term conditions can receive similar Anticipatory Care support to help improve their health outcomes through the Enhanced Health in Care Homes programme.