Camden Council and the North Central London Integrated Care Board (ICB) are set to integrate their spending through the Better Care Fund (BCF) plan for 2025-26, with a pooled budget of £44.9 million. The Camden Health and Wellbeing Board is considering the plan, which aims to support the Camden Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and sets local targets for national BCF metrics, including emergency admissions to hospital for people aged 65+ per 100,000 population, average length of discharge delay for all acute adult patients, and long term support needs of older people (age 65+) met by admission to residential and nursing care homes.

The £44.9 million pooled budget will fund a variety of core health and social care services, including:

  • Long term home based social care services (e.g. homecare packages) - £10.43 million
  • Wider local support to promote prevention and independence (e.g. district nursing) - £8.56 million
  • Discharge support and infrastructure (e.g. social work teams) - £4.41 million
  • Long term residential and nursing care home placements - £3.75 million
  • Home-based intermediate care (short-term home-based rehabilitation, reablement and recovery services) - £4.84 million
  • Assistive technology and equipment - £3.60 million
  • Housing related schemes (e.g. extra care and learning disability supported accommodation) - £1.62 million
  • Bed-based intermediate care (e.g. Henderson Court reablement flats) - £1.42 million
  • Disabled Facilities Grant - £1.30 million
  • Support to carers, including unpaid carers - £1.21 million

The Camden Better Care Fund Plan 2025-26 is a continuation of the 2024-25 plan, adjusted for inflation and new allocations to further support the Camden Rapid Response Service. The minimum contribution to Adult Social Care from the Minimum NHS Contribution to the BCF was increased by 3.9% over the 2024-25 baseline, resulting in a total uplift to the BCF for 2025-26 of £688,160. A reallocation of £491,000 from six schemes to Camden Rapid Response Service is also planned.

The Camden Rapid Response Service aims to ensure more patients remain in the community for treatment of urgent conditions requiring immediate care, thereby supporting admissions avoidance. The success will be measured by contributing to the overall decrease in emergency admissions to hospitals for people aged 65+, with a projected decrease from 5,653 in 2024/25 to 5,484 in 2025/26.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has indicated potential reforms to the BCF after the government's 10 Year Health Plan is published in 2025. In preparation, current schemes will be reviewed with NHS and social care colleagues.

The BCF plan is designed to meet two overarching objectives:

  • To support the shift from sickness to prevention, prioritising preventative measures such as support for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs, complex care case management, family group conferencing, and Wish+.
  • To support people living independently and the shift from hospital to home. Specific support includes investment in the Discharge to Assess (D2A) pathway, funding for hospital social work teams, community equipment and reablement provision, including the reablement flats at Henderson Court sheltered housing scheme.

The BCF plan's success will be measured against key metrics, including emergency admissions to hospital for those aged 65 and over, average length of discharge delays, and the number of older people requiring long-term support in residential care homes.