Currently there are a lot of assessments and transfers between services. People are asked to repeat their story several times and it takes too long to arrange a care plan and treatment.
People often fall between the gaps when they are passed from one person or one department to another. If we improve our services, we would spend more time providing care and less time on unnecessary administration and delays.
A lot of care is provided in hospital or centrally based clinics. We would provide more care in the community to support people to live at home, or in the place they call home. We would like people to have access to more community services, including therapies, without the long waits many people face now.
We want stronger links with local GPs to make sure that more people get follow-up support. We want to link with a range of services to give people access to social support and care, including support with housing and finances.
Too many people in crisis have to go to the emergency department, as they do not know where else to turn. We would provide a Central Access Point for people to get help faster and improved services so people can receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. The Central Access Point is a single telephone number offering help and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As well as a Central Access Point, we would make sure that all requests for support from other services, such as a GP, Crisis Cafe or emergency department, results in help being provided. This is the principle of ‘no wrong door’, and would mean better access to care.
