Long-term conditions are defined on the Department of Health website as “those conditions that cannot, at present, be cured, but can be controlled by medication and other therapies. The life of a person with a LTC is forever altered – there is no return to ‘normal’.” Among the most common of these conditions are asthma, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, severe mental health conditions and epilepsy.
This inquiry examines the way in which the NHS and social care system in England supports people with long-term conditions. The inquiry also reviews services provided for patients with diabetes, and looks at the definition of long-term conditions to examine how to provide more effective management of interventions necessary to bring about service change.