Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) will be holding its third annual spring conference on Monday 7 March 2011, at Maple House in Birmingham from 9.30am to 4pm.
Focus will be on improvement, change and innovation; reflecting current practical advice, guidance and examples of what councils can do to save money, transform services and change the way the public sector operates.
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Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Cash injection to speed hospital discharge
An extra £162 million has been given to health and care services to spend this year on helping people to leave hospital quickly and settle back into their own homes. The money will also be used to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.
Announcing the additional funds last week, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Savings have been made in the Department of Health’s budget which can now be invested in frontline NHS services.”
The funding brings forward plans for health and local authorities to work together, using NHS funding to support social care as announced in the spending review; and will help relieve additional pressures on hospitals over the winter period.
The money will be allocated to PCTs and transferred to councils to spend on social support.
Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow, said: “This money will help cut the delays in getting the equipment and adaptations that people can need to enable them to live independently at home - saving them from an unnecessary stay in hospital or going into residential care.”
The NHS is already planning to spend an additional £800 million from April, on support to social care that benefits health. This was part of the package of measures in the Spending Review, to provide an additional £2 billion for social care in recognition of the importance of care services to hundreds of thousands of families.
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Independent social worker pilots due to be announced
Social Work Practices pilot studies in adult social care are due to start in summer 2011, following similar successful pilots in children’s services.
The practices will be organisations led by social workers, and independent from local authorities.
They will provide services for a specific group of adults and be responsible for carrying out the statutory duties and responsibilities of the local authority.
The programme aims to:
Expressions of interest from councils wanting to take part are currently being considered.
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The practices will be organisations led by social workers, and independent from local authorities.
They will provide services for a specific group of adults and be responsible for carrying out the statutory duties and responsibilities of the local authority.
The programme aims to:
- give social workers more time with individuals in their care
- reduce the bureaucratic burden on individual workers
- give social workers the freedom to make decisions much closer to that of their clients, resulting in a more responsive service
- empower social workers, giving them more control over day to day management of the practice
- make use of increased financial flexibility to deliver better outcomes by stepping back and thinking creatively about the way resources are used
- make the job more enjoyable – staff satisfaction levels for the children’s pilots have been high. They feel they are very much part of a decision making team.
Expressions of interest from councils wanting to take part are currently being considered.
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Modernisation of Commissioning moves one step closer
Government plans for transforming public sector commissioning are outlined in its Green Paper Modernising Commissioning: Increasing the role of charities, social enterprises, mutual and cooperatives in public service delivery.
Two key reasons lie behind plans to increase involvement of civil society organisations in delivery of public services; the first is to shift power from central government to local communities.
The aim is to change commissioning practices, to encourage greater involvement of people and communities in providing services that were the domain of the state.
Second, is to improve quality and efficiency of services by removing unnecessary duplication and equipping commissioners with good quality information needed to make informed decisions.
Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:
“Public services must make better use of tax-payer’s money. We need smarter commissioning processes that take into account the social and environmental impact of organisations awarded contracts.
"Good performance in these areas can take pressure off other public services and so create efficiencies across the board.”
Deadline for comments on the Green Paper was 5 January 2011. Conclusions from consultation on the paper will be included in a wider Public Service Reform White Paper to be published early this year.
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Mobilising Community Capital - Transforming Adult Social Care (TASC) Summit
The next TASC summit will take place on Thursday 3 February 2011, at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham.
Focus will be on mobilising community capital as part of the JIP’s market shaping programme.
The social care sector wide agreement launched in November 2010, recognises there has to be an adequate supply and good choice of quality provision for personalisation to succeed, and for service users to have full control over their care and support.
This one day event will demonstrate how practices and the relationship between commissioners and social care providers can be changed, to increase the range and number of business providing services.
Presenters from a variety of voluntary, independent and public sector organisations will facilitate workshops to share their perspective on what has worked for them.
And with up to nine places per local authority area allocated to representatives from across the sectors, time has been set aside for area representatives to work together to begin to plan their market shaping interventions.
The next JIP e-Bulletin will include a report on the workshop and next steps.
Contact: Paul Johnston, Telephone: 01670 528438 or 07847 318 672, email: paul.johnston@impactchange.co.uk
Focus will be on mobilising community capital as part of the JIP’s market shaping programme.
The social care sector wide agreement launched in November 2010, recognises there has to be an adequate supply and good choice of quality provision for personalisation to succeed, and for service users to have full control over their care and support.
This one day event will demonstrate how practices and the relationship between commissioners and social care providers can be changed, to increase the range and number of business providing services.
Presenters from a variety of voluntary, independent and public sector organisations will facilitate workshops to share their perspective on what has worked for them.
And with up to nine places per local authority area allocated to representatives from across the sectors, time has been set aside for area representatives to work together to begin to plan their market shaping interventions.
The next JIP e-Bulletin will include a report on the workshop and next steps.
Contact: Paul Johnston, Telephone: 01670 528438 or 07847 318 672, email: paul.johnston@impactchange.co.uk
Finding the right support
The Department of Health is offering support to social enterprises delivering health and social care.
‘Welcoming social enterprise into health and social care: A resource pack for social enterprise providers and commissioners’ can be downloaded from the department’s website.
It gives guidance on setting up and financing a social enterprise, commissioning, workforce management, regulation and standards of care.
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Adding value to care and health services
Evidence gathered by the DH shows social enterprises can significantly improve the quality of social care and health services, and offer value for money.
Over 6,000 social enterprises already provide services in the health and care sector.
Research carried out by DH, with support from the Cabinet Office, shows social enterprises can save cost, offer more choice, better quality, be responsive and innovative; and bring wider benefits such as social inclusion and community cohesion.
Findings come from a study of five businesses offering primary and community care services.
Each enterprise undertook a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis: this quantifies social and financial benefits.
Results show services demonstrated a social return of approximately £2 to £5 for every £1 invested.
Full details can be found in ‘Measuring social value – How five social enterprises did it’.
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Over 6,000 social enterprises already provide services in the health and care sector.
Research carried out by DH, with support from the Cabinet Office, shows social enterprises can save cost, offer more choice, better quality, be responsive and innovative; and bring wider benefits such as social inclusion and community cohesion.
Findings come from a study of five businesses offering primary and community care services.
Each enterprise undertook a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis: this quantifies social and financial benefits.
Results show services demonstrated a social return of approximately £2 to £5 for every £1 invested.
Full details can be found in ‘Measuring social value – How five social enterprises did it’.
Read more
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