Commissioning initiative helps stroke care and prevention

The Joint Commissioning Unit (JCU) in Staffordshire is leading on a number of successful community based preventative services for potential stroke victims, and rehabilitation services for stroke survivors.

Working with the Stroke Association, South Staffordshire PCT, South Staffordshire practice based commissioners and the local Stroke Network, the partnership’s work is recognised nationally and regionally as best practice in helping stroke survivors to rebuild their lives.

Backed by three year government funding until 2011, their work consists of:

• Primary Prevention Service – increasing the service in South Staffordshire to provide information, blood pressure checks and lifestyle advice. An estimate of 3,000 people per year will be reached


• FAST (Face Arm Speech Take action) training – aimed at front line staff working in general practice to increase their understanding of what a stoke is, how to identify it, and the need for it to be treated as a medical emergency


• Communication Plus – providing a new model of support for individuals with communication disability, the scheme puts greater emphasis on supporting people to resume day to day tasks such as shopping and leisure activities


• Back to Life courses – a rolling programme of courses for stroke survivors and their carers, focusing on need. This may include coping with the psychological impact; understanding what a stroke is, and reducing risk; medicine compliance; getting back to work and relationships; and financial issues. The service aims to work with 200 survivors each year.


• Long Term Support Service – a two year project to support survivors and carers by setting up activity groups that will become self supporting by the end of the funding period.


• Workforce Planning – the JCU has commissioned ten days’ training to be provided by the Stroke Association to improve the skills of 200 care staff in residential and nursing homes.

Contact: Vanessa Pugh, County Commissioner (Long Term Conditions), Joint Commissioning Unit, telephone: 01785 854603 or 07815 167447.

Joint commissioning improves housing support services

Wolverhampton City Council, Birmingham City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and Walsall Council, have joined together to commission services for adults with complex needs and chaotic lifestyles.

The four authorities have set up the Birmingham and Black Country Cross Authority Project (BBCCAP), and successfully commissioned a cross-authority housing support service for serially excluded adults.

The service aims to help vulnerable adults live independently and:

• acts as a preventative measure by helping service users avoid, for example, homelessness, entry into institutional care or clinical services, and the risk of re-offending


• reconnects service users to their own local authority area, re-establishing and maintaining their social and support networks


• ensures support services are delivered in response to individual needs, working with them to achieve independent living


• helps service users access preventative services and establish social links within the wider community.
  

To ensure the project’s success, the authorities developed a partnership agreement setting out the roles and responsibilities of each of the bodies involved and action to be taken if, for example, one of the authorities pulled out.

Provision of a seamless service is dependent on effective links between mental health, substance misuse and probation services across each of the four areas.

Top tips for efficiency free of charge

Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) has produced its top ten tips for achieving efficiency savings in council services.

The guide gives tips on how local authorities can access support from IEWM to secure real efficiency savings, helping them to manage their budgets and free up resources to reinvest in local services.

Andy Hancox, Director of IEWM, said: “This guide demonstrates how we have already supported over £40m of efficiency savings since April 2008 through our work on eAuctions, collaborative procurement, asset management, transformation and the improved commissioning of children’s and adults services.”

The publication is available free of charge.

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RIEPS harness millions in local government savings

Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) have helped local authorities to deliver £321 million of efficiencies over the past two years, and will deliver up to £950 million savings by March 2011.

RIEPs were set up in April 2008 to assist councils and their partners in delivering better services by supporting their efforts to become more efficient, innovative and engaged with communities.

The Joint Improvement Partnership (JIP) is the adult social care wing of Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM), the RIEP for the West Midlands region.

A summary of the collective achievements of the nine RIEPs in England can be found in RIEPs: A summary of key achievements – two years on.

Their priorities in 2010/11 include:

• a stronger focus on joint working between the RIEPs


• increasing support for collaborative and innovative procurement


• developing a more joined up approach to improvement and efficiency in local areas.

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Care funding calculator continues to make savings

Adult care services in the region are on target to deliver efficiency gains of over £2.8 million through use of the Care Funding Calculator.

The free Excel based calculator creates greater transparency in pricing and provides more information for negotiating the price of residential and supported living.

Data includes price details of staffing, hotel places, overheads and other costs. The calculator gives care purchasers an indicative price for each element of their client’s care plan. The estimated cost is then used to negotiate a fair price with the supplier for the care package.

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eAuctions save millions

Savings secured via the West Midlands eAuction programme total £20 million with some local authorities making a return on their investment of 70:1.

The eAuctions take place on line. Potential suppliers compete in real time by providing prices for goods and services under procurement, including home to school transport, ICT, office furniture and cleaning products.

This form of buying and pricing is a major strand of Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) smarter procurement programme.

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Savings through smart procurement

The West Midlands Procurement Hub is currently delivering savings of £3 million per year to local authorities in the region.

Set up by Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM), the hub is an information sharing tool for procurement officers in the region’s 33 councils.

It gives them access to:

• a contracts database consisting of ‘live’ contractual arrangements that can be used immediately


• Collaboration Corner – an online matching service to find possible collaborative partners


• The Procurement Library holding a selection of standard documents and guidance


• an events and training calendar offering online registration to events


• The Society of Procurement Officers (SOPO) forum, to which procurement questions can be posted and answered


• Suppliers Corner where current tendering opportunities in the region’s councils are displayed.

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