Turning Point response to Lord Darzi's strategy on primary and community Care

Commenting on the publication of the Darzi Strategy on Primary and Community Care today, Turning Point's Chief Executive, Lord Victor Adebowale, says:

"I strongly welcome the commitment to provide integrated care, and the aspiration to make services work for those people who have the most complex needs. Social care is often what makes the most practical difference to people from our poorest communities.

"The challenge now is delivery. To drive real reform and care closer to home, local health trusts will need to have the courage to do things differently, and this may mean reallocating resources in order to reinvest in new services. To take this further, people need to be more involved in designing and delivering local services so that they actually want to use them.

"The key will be in supporting new and innovative ways of engaging with excluded groups, who find it difficult to use primary care services and may not be registered with GPs. Too many of our poorest areas still effectively lack a GP service. Services need to be easier for people to access in the community. This will mean harnessing the strengths of a range of service providers working in partnership with the NHS to tackle health inequalities."

Thursday 3rd July, 2008

For more information please contact:
Steve Palmer
Turning Point Press Officer
020 7481 7630
Out of hours 07786 938 601
www.turning-point.co.uk

Notes to editors:

1. Department of Health: Patient voice central to new direction for primary care http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=372774&NewsAreaID=2
2. Turning Point is working in partnership with the NHS and other partners to develop new services for people with mental health problems /servicesites/rightsteps
3. Turning Point provides alcohol interventions services in three hospitals; Gateshead, Sunderland and Watford. Read about the scheme on the Turning Point blog http://blog.turning-point.co.uk/?p=110
4. Connected Care is Turning Point's blueprint for significant change in how health, housing and social care services are provided. The Centre of Excellence in Connected Care website is at /centreofexcellence/Home.htm
5. Turning Point is the UK's leading social care organisation: Turning Point provides services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems or those with a learning disability. Turning Point provides services in over 250 locations and has contact with over 100,000 people every year.