Reshaping Care for Older People - Change Fund Guidance 2012/13
It is now well established that Scotland is facing a declining and ageing population. The ageing demographic in Scotland means that the current pathways of care are becoming unsustainable. The Reshaping Care for Older People Change Fund is a Scottish Government initiative that is aiming to improve services for older people by shifting care towards anticipatory care and preventative spend.
The Change Fund will enable health and social care Partners to implement local plans for making better use of their combined resources for older people's services. The Change Fund will provide bridging finance to facilitate shifts in the balance of care from institutional to primary and community settings, and should also influence decisions taken with respect to the totality of Partnership spend on older people's care.
Local health, housing and social care Partnerships were asked to submit Change Plans in order to access the £70m available in the 2011/12 financial year. Plans were received from all 32 Partnerships and were considered by the Ministerial Strategic Group (MSG). In confirming the release of Change Fund monies to all Partnerships, the MSG commented that overall, Partnerships had made a strong start and their Plans provide a good platform for progressing local programmes.
Following the 2012 Spending review, a further £80m Health and Social Care Change Fund will be available for Partnerships in 2012/13, with £80m committed for 2013/14 and £70m for 2014/15.
Guidance that sets out the arrangements to enable local partnerships to access their allocation of the 2012/13 Change Fund was circulated on 11 November 2011. This requires local partnerships to prepare Change Plans that set down how the funding will be used to achieve a shift in the balance of care, as well as reporting on what has been achieved with the previous year's allocation. The MSG will oversee the development process nationally and will look for assurance that Partnership arrangements are in place to deliver change locally.
Key changes in the 2012/13 Change Fund guidance compared to the previous years, are the requirement for Partnerships to provide evidence that at least 20% of the Change Fund allocation is given to support options and services for carers; and that Partnerships should use the Fund to lever genuine shifts in the totality of their health and care spend by rebalancing services towards anticipatory care and preventative approaches that support people to stay in their own homes.
The Guidance for 2012/13 Change Plans and, to encourage sharing of ideas and good practice - and as previously notified to partnerships - all 32 Change Plans have been made available on the Joint Improvement Team's website.
We are asking that Change Plans should be prepared and agreed by local Authorities, NHS Boards, Third and Independent sector representatives and submitted by 17 February 2012.