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DH asks NICE to develop standards for integrated health and social care

The Department of Health has asked NICE is to develop further standards for integrated health and social care.

NICE is currently developing two pilot health and social care quality standards - on the care of people with dementia and the health and wellbeing of looked-after children, which will be published in April 2013.

The new standards are on the care and wellbeing of both adults and children with autism and on the mental wellbeing of older people in residential care. These will be based on accredited guidance, including NICE clinical guidelines and public health guidance.

The DH has also tasked NICE with developing a number of standards where no health or social care guidance on a topic exists. NICE will have to first develop new guidance recommendations before producing the relevant quality standard.

These topic areas include:

  • the transition from child to adult services.
  • the transition between health and social care services.
  • management of physical and mental co-morbidities of older people in community and residential care settings.
  • medicines management in care homes.
  • child maltreatment.

Dr Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said: ‘We can now start working with social care organisations and other experts to plan the scope of these standards.

‘This will enable us to co-ordinate their development – and any necessary guidance on which these standards will need to be based - as quickly and efficiently as possible once our social care remit formally begins in April 2013.’