Research commissioned by the Richmond Group of Charities shows that charities can add value to the health and care system in a number of ways – which is appropriate to the ambition of the NHS Five Year Forward View for stronger partnerships with the charitable and voluntary sector.
The research findings show that charities are essential because:
– they can deliver strong health and wellbeing outcomes for patients through direct treatment and support and supported self-management.
– they can make a contribution to the way services and systems are designed.
– charities not only help individuals through one-to-one relationships but they can help systems to function more effectively by innovating with new models and approaches and integrating across institutions, sectors and pathways.
– the voluntary and community sector live up to the promise of operating across institutional boundaries – helping people to stay out of hospital to caring for people at the end of their lives.