Richmond upon Thames' Better Care Fund (BCF) has fallen short of its targets for reducing hospital delays and admissions to residential care in the 2025-26 reporting period. The fund, which aims to integrate health and social care services, missed its ambition for reducing emergency admissions for those aged 65 and over, as well as targets for discharge delays and permanent admissions to residential care.
Despite these missed targets, the end-of-year report for 2025-26, presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday 16 July 2026, noted successes in integrated workforce development and collaborative leadership. However, challenges were identified, including increased demand exceeding available funding, particularly for homecare and care home placements.
Brian Roberts, Head of Health and Care Integration, presented the findings, stating that the borough narrowly missed its ambition for reducing emergency admissions for those aged 65 and over. He also confirmed that targets for discharge delays and permanent admissions to residential care were not met.
Roberts highlighted that the data for discharge delays is trust-wide and does not break down by site, but the issue is largely concentrated at West Middlesex Hospital. He noted that improvements were already being seen in April and May data for discharge delays.
Denise Madden questioned how the effectiveness and return on investment of fund allocations were measured. Roberts confirmed that BCF schemes are regularly reviewed for capability, capacity, and productivity, and that metrics are used to understand performance. He also mentioned a consultation on the evolution of the BCF for 2027-28.
The report indicates that the total pooled budget for 2026-27 is £21,079,169. The plan for 2026-27 focuses on reducing emergency admissions for those aged 65+, decreasing discharge delays, and reducing admissions to long-term residential care.
