GPs, other healthcare professionals and patients are all being invited to comment on what should be included in the forthcoming cross-government strategy on long-term conditions.
Work is being led by the Department of Health, which is currently drafting the strategy and plans to publish it before the end of this year.
It is intended to be a “high level vision” that describes how the lives of people with long-term conditions are improved and will only apply to England.
The DH said it wanted to hear from people with long-term conditions, carers, health professionals, commissioners, local authorities and the voluntary sector.
There are an estimated 15.4 million people living with a long-term condition in England and these conditions affect people of all ages.
Care of people with long-term conditions accounts for 70% of the total health and social care budget in England and people with at least one such condition are 10% less likely to be in employment than people with none.
The strategy will not be confined to health issues and the government plans for it to cover other aspects of people’s lives that are affected by long-term conditions.
People are being asked to consider:
- what problems they face, either living with a long-term condition or in their work affecting people with long-term conditions
- how they think these problems could be tackled
- how local services can work together to make life better for people with long-term conditions
- how people with long-term conditions can be experts in their own care and how services can be based on their individual needs
- what common aims government departments should be signing up to, relating to all long-term conditions.
Comments have to be submitted by 15 June.