Health and Social Care Policy and the Interprofessional ... - CAIPE

Chapter 1 - Europe’s Policy Agenda
Summary
There are numerous challenges ahead for the people of Europe. With fewer
children being born and with an ageing population, it is crucial that high quality
integrated models of health and social care are implemented without delay.
High quality health and social care implies that it is cost affordable, efficient,
innovative and synergistic, uses available resources wisely and ultimately is fit
for the purpose intended.
High quality health and social care however, are very expensive commodities
hence it is not surprising that the EU, its member states, the WHO and other
health related NGOs are working in partnership to develop policies that
enable Europeans to live long, healthy and productive lives from cradle to
grave, through an intensive public health programme. Recent EU and WHO
European Region policy mandates the need for interprofessional, interagency
and inter-sectoral practice in health and social care. Policy also mandates a
more inclusive partnership with other Directorates, including the environment,
transport, agriculture, whose policies impact on the health and well being of
Europeans.
The majority of people however will experience periods of ill health at some
stage of their lives. Some will have to learn to adapt to, and live with, long
term conditions that limit or change their life styles forever. With an ageing
population the number of people living with a long-term conditions is predicted
to rise, each of whom will require the skills of an interagency interprofessional
workforce.
Policy makers and strategists have made it crystal clear that the creation of an
interprofessional workforce is critical for the health and welfare of future
generations and to ignore their advice would, at the very least, be foolhardy.
Setting the scene
It is tempting from the outset of this paper to write that, almost without
exception, every policy paper relating to the health of Europe’s population,
assumes implicitly and in some cases explicitly, that interprofessional,
interagency, inter-sectoral practice is the norm. Indeed analysing recent and
current policy it is now hard to defend the continuing reluctance, and dare one
say active resistance, of hard-core protagonists, to developing patient led
collaborative interprofessional partnerships.
An ageing population in Europe is placing increasing demands on the welfare
state. Older people, by definition, are more likely to experience ill health and
long-term conditions that impact on their ability to live independent lives.
Many will need increasing care and support as they move towards the end of
their lives. The support of social care services in enabling people to live as
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