Community health services

Community health services

These diverse and locally variable services are provided from clinics, health centres, community hospitals, care homes and in patients’ own homes. They are an important element in the healthcare of many older people, of people living with disabilities, of families with young children and of people living with long-term conditions. The recipients of CHS are often among the most vulnerable members of the community.

Regardless of the care setting, all patients are entitled to services appropriate to their needs, that are safe, of high quality and operating within legal and clinical governance frameworks. CHS can broadly be described as:

·      services generally delivered outwith GP practices and secondary care by CHS professionals such as community nurses and therapists working from and in community clinics, community hospitals and other community sites

·      services that reach across the population such as district nursing, school health, podiatry, sexual health services and specialist nurses

·      services that help people back into their own homes from hospital and prevent unnecessary admissions, for example intermediate care, rehabilitation, ‘virtual wards’ (provision of a ward level of care that supports earlier discharge from or prevents admission to hospital)

·      services that help individuals and their carers to maintain and manage ill health or long-term conditions that require support outside GP practices, for example respite care for children with complex medical conditions, end-of-life care

·      services provided by specialist services and practitioners, for example, tuberculosis clinics, community dental services and tissue viability nurses

·      services that interface with social care, for example, services supporting those with learning disability are often provided via joint health and social care teams.

Table 14.1 provides an example of the range of CHS provided in an urban area.