People with long-term conditions are paying the
price
Members of the Partnership on Long-term Conditions
see the people behind the statistics: the men,women
and children whose lives are seriously affected
by long-term conditions and made even more difficult
by inconvenient and unresponsive public services.
In
this manifesto,we propose changes that will begin
to set people with long-term conditions free –
free to choose the services and treatments that
are right for them and that will enhance their
quality of life.
Service
providers are counting the costs
| •
|
It
is estimated that 60 per cent of GP consultations
relate to living with long-term conditions.
(1) |
| •
|
People
living with a long-term condition or its complications
use over 60 per cent of hospital beds. (2) |
|
• |
Support
for people with long-term conditions is a
major – and growing – part of
the work of social services departments. |
These
statistics should ring alarm bells. Advances in
technology, the emergence of costly new treatments,
longer life expectancy and rising public expectations
are a potentially expensive cocktail.
Something
must be done…
Public
consultations have shown that long-term conditions
are a major public health concern. There is consensus
among all political parties that action is needed
to improve services for people with long-term
conditions.
----------------------------
1) Office for National Statistics (2002).
2)
Ibid.
