Priority 1 from the Multiple Conditions in Later Life PSP

UNCERTAINTY: How can current health, social care and voluntary sectors in the UK be optimised to more effectively meet the needs of older people living with multiple conditions? (JLA PSP Priority 1)
Overall ranking	1
JLA question ID	0064/1
Explanatory note	This question represented the most significant level of synthesis from the original narrative submissions. Questions around how to make more care more effective for older people with multiple conditions were very prevalent across all forms of respondent. For example, health professionals and carers would frequently ask about how health and social care could work more effectively together. Older people would frequently express concern about how they would afford care, or how to access care. Many different people accessed the same core issue of effectiveness of care in slightly different ways. In order to make the submissions manageable, all the varying submissions about how care could be optimised were synthesised into this very broad question.
Evidence	None identified that applied directly to all conditions in the over 85s
Health Research Classification System category	Generic Health Relevance

Extra information provided by this PSP
Original uncertainty examples	'How do we sustain longer term support rather than brief interventions?' Health professional ~ 'How can we as GPs best work with patients with multiple conditions to both optimise their healthcare and reduce their treatment burden? Health professional ~ 'My relative with a severe stroke lives with her husband who has dementia and is unable to walk. They each have 24 hour carers which my brother and I are fortunately able to afford privately in their own home. If we were unable to afford this the options for care would probably mean they would be separated.' Carer ~ 'I also worry about the Doctors, as it is practically impossible to see ones own doctor as none of them now work full time. This means there s no continuity of care. Every time you see a doctor he is starting from scratch again.' Older person
Submitted by	All forms of respondents - patients, carers, health and social care professionals

Extra information provided by this PSP

Original uncertainty examples

'How do we sustain longer term support rather than brief interventions?' Health professional ~ 'How can we as GPs best work with patients with multiple conditions to both optimise their healthcare and reduce their treatment burden? Health professional ~ 'My relative with a severe stroke lives with her husband who has dementia and is unable to walk. They each have 24 hour carers which my brother and I are fortunately able to afford privately in their own home. If we were unable to afford this the options for care would probably mean they would be separated.' Carer ~ 'I also worry about the Doctors, as it is practically impossible to see ones own doctor as none of them now work full time. This means there s no continuity of care. Every time you see a doctor he is starting from scratch again.' Older person

Submitted by

All forms of respondents - patients, carers, health and social care professionals

PSP information
PSP unique ID	0064
PSP name	Multiple Conditions in Later Life
Total number of uncertainties identified by this PSP.	97 (To see a full list of all uncertainties identified, please see the detailed spreadsheet held on the JLA website)
Date of priority setting workshop	24 April 2018