Community services data is an important moment for sector

Responding to the publication of two-hour Urgent Community Response data by NHS England and NHS Improvement, Siobhan Melia, chair of the Community Network hosted by NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation, said:

“This is the first national data of its kind for the community sector and represents an important moment for community providers. It will raise the profile of community services, and shine a light on the important work taking place in the sector, which is a key priority for Community Network members.

“It is positive to see that, as of April 2022, 78 per cent of Urgent Community Response referrals met the two-hour standard for delivering Urgent Community Response services. These services play an essential role in supporting ambitions to deliver more care in and close to people’s homes where appropriate, which benefits both patients and the wider health and care system by reducing pressure on urgent and emergency care and hospital beds. We know providers will be working hard to drive further improvement, and we look forward to tracking this as it develops.

“Getting to the point of the publication of this data is testament to the hard work and commitment of community providers who have been working behind the scenes to improve national data collections over the past couple of years, all while responding to the increased pressures and demands relating to the pandemic.

“We will continue to support community providers and national policy makers to continue to develop data quality for the benefit of service users.”