Caring for people with multiple chronic conditions in the United Kingdom: policy and practices with a focus on England and Scotland.

Abstract

General Practice (Primary Care) is responsible for the provision of health care for people with chronic conditions in the UK. General Practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses play a key role in the coordination of care with input from secondary care specialists. The prevalence of coexisting chronic health conditions (multimorbidity) is rising and is a challenge facing health care in the UK. All four UK countries have a strategic emphasis at government level on the investigation of current provision and the redesign of healthcare delivery for patients with chronic conditions, including those with multimorbidity. Several initiatives focusing specifically on the care of patients with multimorbidity have been developed within the last 5 years in the UK with the aim of improving their care and quality of life. These initiatives are often provided by multi-disciplinary teams and by integrated teams, including health care, social care and the voluntary sector