Making information easy

My Care in Birmingham, is the City Council’s new website dedicated to providing easily accessible information about adult social care services.
The site has user-friendly pages to help local people identify their social care needs.

It is being rolled out in stages; the first – information and advice pages – is already in place.

Next will be an assessment section allowing individuals to completed an online assessment of their care needs. 

My Care in Birmingham

Views sought on social care makeover

Shropshire Council has embarked on a major countywide review of the way it delivers adult social care services. 

Care services in Shropshire have not changed much over the past 30 years. Based on extensive consultation with residents, advocacy groups, the NHS and other organisations,  the council seeks to reflect the changing needs and expectations of people, and adapt services accordingly.

Under the heading of Live life: your way? the council wants to develop a new joint vision that will underpin services in the future.

Read more

Chance to win £1,000s in dementia design challenge

The Design Council, in partnership with the Department of Health, has issued a nation-wide challenge to design products and services that make life simpler and more enjoyable for dementia sufferers and their carers.

Participants could win a share of £360,000 plus professional support to make their idea happen. 

Deadline for applications is 5.00pm on 30 September 2011.

Read more

Spotlight dementia on film

A video campaign to raise awareness of dementia has been launched in GP surgeries across Worcestershire County.

Produced by NHS Worcestershire with support from the Alzheimer’s Society, the video is being played in doctors’ surgeries as part of the Living Well with Dementia strategy launched earlier this year. 

The video tells viewers how dementia affects individuals, what to do if they experience symptoms and where to go for support locally.

Contact: Susan Pinfold-Brown, Dementia Programme Manager, telephone 07587 885 115, email: suan.pinfold-brown@worcestershire.nhs.uk .

Fund for innovation open

The 2012-13 Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund is open to applicants seeking funding for projects offering innovative approaches to health and care.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals to the Department of Health.

Fifty seven projects benefited from funding under the scheme in 2011-12, to the tune of £3.5 million for the year.  The projects, from cancer services to mental health projects, are now benefiting patients across the country.

Applicants are required to register online by noon on Friday 7 October 2011, and the closing date for submitting applications is Friday 21 October. 

Full details here.

Supporting the PA market

A framework for supporting the development of personal assistants (PAs) and their employers has been produced by DH. 

Working for personalised care: A framework for supporting personal assistants working in adult social care, examines the roles of national and local government, communities and individuals. It identifies potential obstacles and barriers and provides good practice examples for overcoming them.

The framework sets out a strategy to accelerate and support growth in PA employment as part of the drive to personalise adult social care. It provides an outline for a delivery plan which will be developed over the coming months.

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Responses to NHS consultation available

Responses to Government’s consultation on modernising the NHS have been published.
The consultation, Liberating the NHS: Developing the healthcare workforce, ran from December 2010 to March 2011.  This was followed by the NHS Listening Exercise.

DH has published a summary of replies received, and a full formal response will be published in Autumn.

Summary of responses to the consultation

NHS Future Forum says let’s talk

The government has asked the NHS Future Forum to continue a new phase of conversations with patients, service users and professionals, following its listening exercise on the proposals to modernise the NHS.
The NHS Future Forum, a group of health experts led by GP Professor Steve Field, will provide independent advice on four themes:

·        Information – how to make information improve health, care and well being

·        Education and training – how to develop the healthcare workforce to deliver world class healthcare

·        Integrated care – how to ensure the government’s modernisation programme leads to better integration of services around people’s needs

·        The public’s health – how to ensure the public’s health remains at the heart of the NHS.

The Forum is inviting comments on these areas.

Read more on how to take part.

Residents in Wolverhampton urged to have a go

Wolverhampton City’s learning disabilities team struck a blow for equality by staging Have Another Go, a programme of events for people with learning disabilities to get involved in community based physical activities.

The team, from the Black Country Partnership (BCP), staged the events last week as part of its drive to remove health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities.

Di Webb, Strategic Health Facilitator for the BCP said: “clinical evidence shows people with a learning disability are more likely to become obese, and our aim is to get them involved in physical activities, boost their fitness levels and improve their general health and wellbeing.”

Activities included a three mile walk, the Wolverhampton Marathon Relay, cycling events, a Zumba session, handball, tennis, football and basketball.

All the pursuits are already available in the local community. The initiative is designed to offer people with learning disabilities a taste of what they could do, and encourage them to participate.

Last year’s event led to double the number of residents with learning disabilities taking part in the city’s Walking for Health Scheme.

Contact: Di Web, telephone: 01902 572572.

Have Another Go

Supporting a Transforming Reablement Service in Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council - Case Study

This study describes the use of eABLE in Walsall, a software package used to manage and track the effectiveness of the council’s reablement programme.

It traces the service user’s journey through the programme and gives up to date information on how it benefits each user.

Key elements include an assessment module which scores the service users’ level of independence on the basis of their ability to perform day to day activities. Scores provided at each assessment stage give an objective measure of the improvements in the service user’s independence during the course of the programme.

The Activity tracker module includes a detailed breakdown of activities, the time spent doing them and the location; giving a clearer picture of the overall cost and performance of the service.

eABLE was developed by psHEALTH Ltd with support from the Community Gateway which managed the pilot of the software in partnership with Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM).

IEWM’s Head of Adult Social Care, Communications and Strategy, Matt Bowsher said: “Having a clear baseline, and understanding the impact of different interventions enables a Council to offer choice, better value and a realistic chance of meeting people’s assessed needs. eABLE helps council’s optimise their reablement service and achieve sustained independence for people faster.”

For enquiries and a copy of the case study contact: Nathan Downing, Director, Community Gateway, telephone: 07970 567 332, email: Nathan@communitygateway.org.uk .

Direct payments boost PA jobs

The number of jobs in the adult social care sector has surged due primarily to an increase in the number of personal assistants working for people in receipt of direct payments. 

Figures released by Skills for Care show jobs increased by 7% to 1.77 million between 2009 and 2010.

The data also shows approximately 154,000 adults and older people were receiving direct payments from council social services departments in 2010, and the total number of direct payment recipients increased by 35% between March 2009 and 2010.

Full findings can be found in the Skills for Care report The Size and Structure of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England 2011.

Analysis is based on data provided by employers to the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care, providing commissioners and employers with information needed to help them meet some of the key challenges set out in the government’s vision for social care.

Report

Enhanced reablement shows results

Staffordshire County Council has produced a short video promoting its Living Independently Staffordshire reablement scheme that offers greater flexibility and a longer period of support following illness or injury. 

Following four successful pilots, the scheme, which provides up to 12 weeks of free intensive support to help people get back on their feet, is set to operate across the county.

Previously people received up to six weeks reablement support, but the Community Reablement team found some individuals needed more time to regain their independence, and often ended up in hospital again or long term care.

The revamped service is now available to people over 18 if they are referred by their GP, hospital or direct from the community. No other county in the country offers reablement care to people as young as 18. 

Support ranges from simple help with medication, or relearning how to boil a kettle, to more demanding situations, such as regaining the ability to talk and carry out other daily tasks.

Pilot scheme results show more than 50% of people who used the service were able to go back to their own lives and live independently without further support. 

See video

Blueprint for effective use of fall detectors

An evaluation of the use of fall detectors is underway with the purpose of drawing up guidelines on how to use them effectively. 

Evaluation is being carried out by the Health Design and Technology Institute, Coventry University, in partnership with the West Midlands Region Telehealthcare Network, and Warwickshire PCT.  The project is funded by NHS West Midlands.

Currently one third of older people lie undetected when they fall, for at least one hour.  Detectors can be deployed to raise the alarm early and ensure a timely and appropriate response, but their use across the region varies. 

Evaluation will include:

• Focus groups with telehealthcare representatives, and interviews with older people
• Evaluating the experience of 20 older people issued with fall detectors as part of their existing care package
• A literature review and market appraisal of existing fall detector technology
• Collecting data from existing sources about the range of fall detectors used across the region and demographic profiles of users.

Contact: Dr. Gillian Ward, Project Lead, g.ward@coventry.ac.uk or Nikki Holliday, n.holliday@coventry.ac.uk

Project brief

Fall Detectors – What do users want?                                                                    

One third of older people who fall lie undetected for at least 1 hour. Fall detectors can provide an early alert which can ensure a timely and appropriate response, but their use varies across the region. Understanding of the detectors role and use will be explored in this project, which will capture and analyse user experience to ensure detectors are deployed in a more efficient and effective way.

The Health Design & Technology Institute (HDTI), Coventry University in partnership with the West Midlands Region Telehealthcare Network and Warwickshire PCT, has been funded by NHS West Midlands to carry out an evaluation of the use of fall detectors within the West Midlands Region. Through understanding the users' perspectives, guidance will be produced on the use of detectors to support referral and application across the region.

The service evaluation will use "rapid appraisal techniques" for the swift assessment of local views and perceptions of the problems and needs relating to the use of fall detectors across the region.

The evaluation will include

·        focus groups with telehealthcare leads and interviews with older people

·        evaluating the experience of  20 older people issued with fall detectors as part of their existing care package

·        a literature review and market appraisal of existing fall detector technology

·        collecting data from existing sources about the range of fall detectors used across the region and demographic profiles of users

The project will conclude with a workshop to summarise the findings and agree priority areas for action.

Following ethical approval, focus groups and interviews will took place April to May 2011 and the service evaluation began in April 2011. You can get involved by;

·        taking part in a focus group

·        responding to a survey on the use of fall detectors in your area

·        helping in the recruitment of service users for interview and the service evaluation.

The project steering group includes; Sue Williams, Project Development Manager, ADASS and JIP West Midlands; Jim Ellam, Assistive Technology Project Lead, Staffordshire County Council; Nathan Downing, JIP Telecare Project Lead; Liz Long, Health Improvement and Falls Service Manager, Dudley MBC; Mary Jerrison, Osteoporosis and Falls Management Team Leader,  South Staffs PCT;

Sue Ducker, Warwickshire PCT; Simon Fielden, Director HDTI, Coventry University.

If you would like further information about the project please contact Dr. Gillian Ward, Project Lead, HDTI, g.ward@coventry.ac.uk or Nikki Holliday, Research Assistant, HDTI, n.holliday@coventry.ac.uk

Shock at reluctance to help elderly stay at home

Members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People have expressed their shock at lack of investment in measures to help vulnerable people remain in their homes for longer.
Reporting on their Inquiry into the barriers preventing older people from living well at home, members noted that relatively minor and cost effective changes, such as hand rails and stair lifts, could help people remain independent.

Instead, the Inquiry found evidence of delays and duplication in assessing individual needs, insufficient funds for preventative home care, inflexible administration of personalised support, shortages of Disabled Facilities Grants for home adaptations and of occupational therapists to advise on them, under-resourced and few home improvement agencies, and insufficient numbers of handy person schemes to get things done for older home owners. 

Members recommend a joined up approach between health, social care and housing, with the soon to be established Health and Wellbeing Boards placing greater emphasis on housing issues.  

Their Inquiry also recommends better equity release schemes for home owners, to give them the cash needed to modify their homes. 

Full report here

Southern Cross transfer due for completion this Autumn

Transfer of Southern Cross care homes to new operators is due to be completed by the end of October 2011. 

A restructuring committee made up of representatives from the company, its landlords and lenders, are overseeing the process that involves 750 care and nursing homes, and up to 31,000 residents. 

Southern Cross Healthcare is the largest independent care home operator in England. It will cease operating when transfers have been completed.

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) is maintaining an updated guide to the transfer of homes. 

Details  

Care home transfer tracker launched

A new website tracking the transfer of care homes run by Southern Cross has been launched by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).

The site lists the name of every home in England managed by Southern Cross, and gives information on the progress of transfers to new operators.  

There are three stages to the process:

• Conclusion of TUPE agreements in relation to staff
• Deregistration and reregistration of the new care provider with the Care Quality Commission
• Finalising agreements between landlords of the homes and Southern Cross

Names of the new operating companies will be added to the site as they become available. A fully comprehensive list will be available in Autumn when the transfer process is due to end.

ADASS President Peter Hay said: “We hope this source will help settle the nerves of residents, carers and the wider public alike, as we approach the final phases of the transition from Southern Cross to other operating companies. 

 “We have stressed all along that our over-riding concern has been the wellbeing and security of all Southern Cross residents. This website and the data it holds are part of that determination and commitment.”

Southern Cross care homes information