National Service Framework for Older People
The National Service Framework for Older People, developed in 2001, is the first ever-comprehensive strategy to ensure fair, high quality, integrated health and social care services for older people. It is a 10 year programme of action linking services to support independence and promote good health, specialised services for key conditions, and culture change so that all older people and their carers are always treated with respect, dignity and fairness.
Aim - To ensure that older people are never unfairly discriminated against in accessing NHS or social care services as a result of their age.
Aim - To ensure that older people are treated as individuals and they receive appropriate and timely package of care, which meet their needs as individuals, regardless of health and social services boundaries.
Aim - To provide integrated services to promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions, support timely discharge and maximise independent living.
Aim - To ensure that older people receive the specialist help they need in hospital and that they receive the maximum benefit from having been in hospital.
People who are thought to have had a stroke have access to diagnostic services, are treated appropriately by a specialist stroke service, and subsequently, with their carers, participate in a multidisciplinary programme of secondary prevention and rehabilitation.
Aim - To reduce the incidence of stroke in the population and ensure that those who have a stroke have prompt access to integrated stroke care services.
Older people who have fallen receive effective treatment and rehabilitation and with their carers, receive advice on prevention through a specialised falls service.
Aim - To reduce the number of falls, which result in serious injury and ensure effective treatment and rehabilitation for those who have fallen.
Aim - To promote good mental health in older people and to treat and support those older people with dementia and depression.
Aim - To extend the healthy life expectancy of older people.
You can download of copy of the full National Service Framework for Older People from the Department of Health website.
The National Service Framework contains a number of standards:
Standard One - Rooting out age discrimination
NHS services will be provided, regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need alone. Social care services will not use age in their eligibility criteria or policies, to restrict access to available services.Aim - To ensure that older people are never unfairly discriminated against in accessing NHS or social care services as a result of their age.
Standard Two - Person-centred care
NHS and social care services treat older people as individuals and enable them to make choices about their own care. This is achieved through the single assessment process, integrated commissioning arrangements and integrated provision of services, including community equipment and continence services.Aim - To ensure that older people are treated as individuals and they receive appropriate and timely package of care, which meet their needs as individuals, regardless of health and social services boundaries.
Standard Three - Intermediate Care
Older people will have access to a new range of intermediate care services at home or in designated care settings, to promote their independence by providing enhanced services from the NHS and councils to prevent unnecessary hospital admission and effective rehabilitation services to enable early discharge from hospital and to prevent premature or unnecessary admission to long-term residential care.Aim - To provide integrated services to promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions, support timely discharge and maximise independent living.
Standard Four - General hospital care
Older people’s care in hospital is delivered through appropriate specialist care and by hospital staff who have the right set of skills to met their needs.Aim - To ensure that older people receive the specialist help they need in hospital and that they receive the maximum benefit from having been in hospital.
Standard Five - Stroke
The NHS will take action to prevent strokes, working in partnership with other agencies where appropriate.People who are thought to have had a stroke have access to diagnostic services, are treated appropriately by a specialist stroke service, and subsequently, with their carers, participate in a multidisciplinary programme of secondary prevention and rehabilitation.
Aim - To reduce the incidence of stroke in the population and ensure that those who have a stroke have prompt access to integrated stroke care services.
Standard Six - Falls
The NHS, working in partnership with councils, takes action to prevent falls and reduce resultant fractures or other injuries in their populations of older people.Older people who have fallen receive effective treatment and rehabilitation and with their carers, receive advice on prevention through a specialised falls service.
Aim - To reduce the number of falls, which result in serious injury and ensure effective treatment and rehabilitation for those who have fallen.
Standard Seven - Mental health in older people
Older people who have mental health problems have access to integrated mental health services, provided by the NHS and councils to ensure effective diagnosis, treatment and support, for them and for their carers.Aim - To promote good mental health in older people and to treat and support those older people with dementia and depression.
Standard Eight - The promotion of health and active life in older age
The health and well being of older people is promoted through a co-ordinated programme of action led by the NHS with support from councils.Aim - To extend the healthy life expectancy of older people.
You can download of copy of the full National Service Framework for Older People from the Department of Health website.
