§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people will not require long-term care, who would otherwise have done so, as a result of the Government's intermediate care programme in the NHS Plan. [153836]
§ Mr. HuttonIntermediate care is designed to promote independence, particularly for older people, who would otherwise face unnecessarily prolonged hospital stays or inappropriate admission to acute in-patient care, long-term residential care, or continuing National Health Service in-patient care. It is not possible to quantify precisely the number of people who will not require long-term care as a result of the development of intermediate care services following the NHS Plan. However, the initial evidence from several existing local schemes suggests a high success rate for short-term rehabilitation schemes set up 723W with the aim of preventing or delaying admissions to long-stay residential care. The Department is currently considering proposals from a number of research teams for the evaluative research of intermediate care schemes nationally.