Thread by @theRSAorg

Today the RSA and @AccentureUK have published our new report on reimagining the future of health and social care.

Here are our 10 lessons for health and social care from the Covid-19 crisis [Thread] #HealthInnovation thersa.org/discover/publi…

1. Health and social care systems need to be more connected. Rather than run on their own track, health and social care systems need to be viewed as intrinsically connected elements of the same system.

2. We need to put social care on an equal footing with health care. Improving connectedness within the system will only be successful if both halves are considered equal in policy making, and in public opinion.

3. Central leadership and governance needs to be agile and adaptive. Being prepared with solutions can support a government to do this, allowing them to scale existing preparations rather than create them anew.

4. Clear messaging helps public health. The public understood their responsibilities during the start of the pandemic. As messaging changed and we were asked to ‘stay alert’, the mood shifted against lockdown.

5. Professionals can work more efficiently when given greater autonomy. Bureaucratic barriers to efficient working have been lifted during the pandemic. Professionals felt they had more time when trusted.

6. Health inequalities will widen if not actively addressed. Societal inequalities across income, race, gender and housing have played out in the risk of infection and risk of fatalities at the hands of Covid-19.

7. Digital access and literacy is a public health issue. The need for rapid adoption of new technologies as lockdown began encouraged health and social care providers to find new ways of communicating within their organisation, with partners, and with service users.

8. The system needs additional resource to be flexible. Creating a system with room for increasing capacity in times of crisis will be essential in ensuring that the system prevents a backlog of appointments.

9. Local and community assets should be explicitly part of the healthcare system. The global nature of the Covid-19 crisis exposed the risks to a system reliant on pressurised supply chains. Instead, local production and manufacturing capacity provides a more agile supply chain.

10. Effectively deploying new technology and data insights supports efficient responses. Data is often designed for reporting metrics and can rarely be shared between departments or organisations due to infrastructure limitations.

Find out more about our recommendations for the future of health and social care by checking out the full report on #HealthInnovation: thersa.org/discover/publi…