Part 4 of our series on the Lib Dem manifesto in practice
Lib Dem manifesto p.41
“Integrate health and social care to create a seamless service, ending bureaucratic barriers and saving money to allow people to stay in their homes for longer rather than going into hospital or long-term residential care”
Around 35,000 people will benefit from a £70m cash boost announced by the Coalition that will enable the NHS to support people back into their homes after a spell in hospital.
Lib Dem manifesto p.40
“We will…scrap Strategic Health Authorities”
The government white paper on health states that we will scrap Strategic Health Authorities.
Lib Dem manifesto p.43
“Giving every patient the right to choose to register with the GP they want, without being restricted by where they live.”
The NHS white paper states that we will give every patient a clear right to choose to register with any GP practice they want with an open list, without being restricted by where they live.
Lib Dem manifesto p.41
“We will prioritise dementia research within the health research and development budget”
The Treasury confirmed in October that this commitment on dementia research will be prioritised within health research and development. Paul Burstow is now personally overseeing this commitment through his role as Chair of a Ministerial Advisory Group by ensuring that dementia researchers get a fair share of the £1.7bn research fund. Plans will be published in the New Year to accelerate the pace in this vital area of research.
Lib Dem manifesto p.41
“We will improve access to counselling for people with mental health problems, by continuing the roll-out of cognitive and behavioural therapies”
The spending review included funding to expand access to talking therapies, including those with severe mental illness, and for the first time children and adolescents. We have already committed £70m this year to give more people the opportunity to access talking therapies. This funding will help tackle the devastating human cost of mental health by ensuring that the right action is taken early in people’s lives. By March 2011, services will be offered to around 60% of the country, increasing to 100% by 2014.