What Does Community Health and Social Care Provide?

Community health and social care services cover a wide range of services that cover the span of life. The teams that work in these services play a critical role in supporting those who have complex health and care needs to live optimally.  

Many services include partnerships across health and social care teams and are made up of a variety of professionals ranging from nurses, therapists and social care workers. 

Community Health and Social Care 

In the UK, Community health services play a key role in helping keep people well, managing illness and long-term conditions, and supporting people to live independently. Community health, in comparison to other aspects of health and social care in not well understood by policymakers, health service leaders and those who work in other parts of the sector.  

According to recent NHS data, community services in the UK have around 200,000 patient contacts every day, which is a substantial 13% of all daily activity seen in the NHS. Community health services cover a variety of activities and are hard to define for this reason. Commonly, these services cover a variety of needs across all age groups and are provided by multiple professional groups. However, it is notable that this classification tends to exclude specialist community mental health services. 

What are Community Health and Social Care Services  

Community care services are most typically used by children, older people, those who are living with frailty or chronic/complex/multiple health needs, or those who are at the end of life. For this reason, these services also work very closely with other aspects of the health and social care sectors. This includes working with GPs, social care professionals, hospitals, pharmacies and more.  

With an ageing population and the lasting effects of COVID-19, there are increasing numbers of people who are living with long-term health conditions, and this means that more people need support from these services going forward.  

A majority of community health services are commissioned by ICBs (Integrated Care Boards). Meanwhile, a majority of children’s and young people’s services are commissioned by local authorities.  

Core Services 

Community health and social care core services provide integrated support that can include everything from nursing, therapies, mental health, intermediate care and safeguarding.  

All these core services are focused on supporting individuals in their homes or in community spaces such as care homes. These services focus on maintaining independence, managing complex needs, and preventing hospital admissions through a multidisciplinary approach and community engagement.

Several of the core services that fall under this distinction include: 

• Community nursing, such as community matrons, end-of-life care, and urgent crisis response. 

• Therapies such as occupational therapy, rehabilitation and physiotherapy. 

• Intermediate care, such as reablement services in homes or hospitals, to support discharge.  

• Mental health services include crisis resolution, early intervention, and assertive outreach.  

• Child health services that include community paediatric clinics. 

• Social work, such as assessment, support planning and resource connection. 

Domiciliary Care – Health meets Daily Living  

Community care can involve domiciliary care, getting help at home. This is a critical aspect of community care that enables the cared-for person to retain a significant aspect of their autonomy.  

Domiciliary care involves having a paid-for carer come to visit the individual in their own home. This can be substantially effective for those who may have mobility issues but wish to retain their independence. This care can be long-term or temporary during recovery periods.  

Social care support, such as domiciliary care, can be self-funded or organised by the local authority if the individual is eligible. While many are aware of the effectiveness of domiciliary care, many are unaware that it is a significant part of community care. 

Mental Health Services  

Community mental health services play a pivotal role in the delivery of mental health care for adults who have complex needs in a way that is as close to home as possible. Community-based mental health services include access to psychological therapies, employment support, trauma-informed care, physical health care, medicine management and substance use, as well as more.  

These community mental health services are supported by ICSs (Integrated Care Systems) and local authorities. With a vision for improvement in place-based mental health models and reviews into how community services can modernise to offer whole-person and whole-population approaches to health and social care, this is an important aspect of the sector.  

CareCubed Aiding Commissioning Challenges 

Commissioning community care services is becoming more complex, with higher demands, diverse needs, and more pressure around delivering value for money. CareCubed supports commissioners and providers alike by offering a transparent, data-driven, evidence-based approach to modelling the true cost of care.  

By benchmarking against market rates and enabling fair, transparent negotiations, CareCubed helps local authorities and ICBs meet their statutory duties under the Care Act 2014 – promoting wellbeing, sustainability and prevention in the community care sector.  

To find out more about how CareCubed could help you to drive positive outcomes, contact us at CareCubed.org or book a demo with us.