Norfolk's Health and Wellbeing Board has signed off the Better Care Fund's Quarter 3 report for 2025-26, confirming the programme is performing well against national targets and staying within budget.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a joint programme between the NHS and local councils designed to help people — particularly older residents — receive care at home rather than in hospital or residential care. In the third quarter of 2025-26, 85% of patients left hospital on the day they were assessed as ready for discharge. Fewer older people moved into long-term residential care, and emergency hospital admissions remained on track.

October saw a slight rise in delays due to winter pressures, but officers said overall performance stayed on course through continued work to manage capacity across home-based and bed-based care pathways.

One of the standout figures discussed at the meeting related to the Unscheduled Care Coordination Hub (UCCH), which has prevented more than 20,000 ambulance journeys to hospital. The board heard that Norfolk's ambulance performance is currently the best in the East of England region.

Members raised concerns about patients being discharged from hospital without sufficient support and later being readmitted. Officers confirmed this data was being collected but called for a more joined-up approach to analysis. They noted that communication between hospitals and care providers around discharge was inconsistent and needed to improve.

The board also discussed a shortage of Occupational Therapists, which is causing delays in processing Disabled Facilities Grants — funding that helps older and disabled people adapt their homes. Officers said work was underway to redesign referral pathways and reduce duplicated waiting lists. Two Occupational Therapists had recently qualified through the council's own apprenticeship scheme, with more in training.

Looking ahead to 2026-27, national guidance has shifted to a more gradual approach to BCF reform. Only two metrics — emergency admissions and discharge-ready dates — will be mandatory nationally, though Norfolk will continue monitoring residential care admissions. A full plan is due to be presented to the board in June 2026.

The board also agreed to hold a workshop later in the year to identify which parts of the BCF are delivering the strongest outcomes and how learning can be shared across the system.