A new report into the unmet need driving accident and emergency attendance shows the shift from hospital to the community ‘must happen everywhere’, the CSP says.
An audit of emergency care data by the British Red Cross found one in seven patients are repeat visitors with unmet medical needs who feel they have nowhere else to go.
Most were over 70 with multiple conditions or under 50 with mental ill health.
Sara Hazzard, assistant director of the CSP and co-chair of the Community Rehab Alliance, said this highlighted the need for better access to services outside of the hospital.
‘This is a change that must happen everywhere,’ she said.
‘One in four people are now living with at least one long-term condition and this number is forecast to rise to two-thirds within a decade.
It is essential that everyone who needs it has access to high-quality rehab services close to home in their community.
‘These services keep people out of hospital and living independently at home and must be available to all.
‘We cannot keep failing people living with long-term conditions.’
There is still a chance for CSP members to take part in the national consultation on the future of the NHS.
If you want to influence the government’s priorities for staffing and funding under its NHS reforms, have your say at change.nhs.uk by 2 December.
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