Last Updated on May 8, 2017

The Social Care Institute for Excellence has produced a new signposting resource for delayed transfers of care. The transfer of care – from hospital to home, or between any other part of the system – represents major pinch points where services and processes often struggle to be truly integrated around the needs of individuals.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) supports the integration of health and care in order to deliver more person-centred, coordinated care. It is being used to leverage system-wide integration, including improving local areas’ approaches to managing delayed transfers of care.

The 2016/17 Better Care Fund Policy Framework and the 2016/17 Better Care Fund Plan requirements now include a new national condition which requires local areas to:

• Fund NHS commissioned out-of-hospital services.
• Develop a clear, focused action plan for managing delayed transfers of care, including locally-agreed targets.

There are several national, regional and local initiatives related to reducing avoidable hospital admissions and delayed transfers of care out of hospital. The Social Care Institute for Excellence's new signposting resource complements that work and signposts planners to useful information to support the development of the delayed transfers of care plans within the BCF plans for 2016/17.

Delayed transfers of care: signposting resource takes a person-centred, whole-systems approach and includes:

• Signposting to the most up-to-date guidance, tools and practice examples.
• A checklist of issues to consider when developing delayed transfer of care plans.
• Sources of additional support on delayed transfer of care planning and delivery.

The new resource forms part of the work commissioned by the Better Care Support Team from KPMG, the Social Care Institute for Excellence and PPL.

More information and related resources are available on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website here. The Delayed transfers of care: signposting resource is available on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website here.