The Joint Improvement Partnership’s role as a strategic link between local authorities and the NHS has grown, with a number of initiatives in place to improve the quality of care provided by health and social care services, and to reduce costs.
Focus has been on reducing hospital re-admissions, integrating care services, expanding the use of assistive technology, promoting prevention and reablement, and redesigning the workforce.
Recent activities include:
Benchmarking and sharing learning to support effective discharging of patients from hospital and the use of resources in care homes – analysis of Delayed Transfer of Care figures shows that nationally the NHS was responsible for 61% of delays last year and social care accounted for 32%.
Emphasis is on health and social care services to work together to avoid placement of patients in residential and nursing homes when they are discharged from hospital.
The JIP is examining a number of suggestions for delaying and reducing the need for care and support, such as changing the culture in hospitals to ‘think home first’ not care homes, and the introduction of a ‘no admission to care homes direct from hospital’ policy. This will require effective intermediate care and rehabilitation or reablement; and sharing good practice in using reablement funds.
A regional event took place on 21st February to work through NHS Situation Reports on delayed hospital discharges and identify good practice. A number of common themes and areas for improvement have been identified.
Integrated Development programme – this started in September 2011. The purpose is to cultivate multidisciplinary teams from health and social care to work in the areas of community intervention, frail elderly people, mental health services for 18 to 24 year olds, reablement for people with dementia, early intervention and screening for dementia sufferers and delayed discharges from hospital. Programme results so far show increasing staff competency, strong partnerships developing between the sectors, and potential for savings in some cases.
Redesigning the workforce – the partnership, in conjunction with Skills for Care, has undertaken elements of workforce redesign and has targeted three main areas of activity: the end of life pathway, dementia and dementia care, and frail elderly pathway design. A template has been designed to capture and track changes as they arise.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Parties seek consensus
Cross party talks have begun on the future of care and support for the elderly and disabled in England.
Plans for reform of adult care services are due to be published this spring and consensus among the main political parties is seen as integral to their success.
Central to discussions will be recommendations from the Dilnot Commission proposing that payments from people in need of care should be capped at £35,000.
Under the current system, means-testing requires anyone with assets over £23,250 to pay for the entire cost of their care, forcing thousands of people to sell their homes each year when they go into residential care.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Chair of the Commission, Andrew Dilnot says MPs and members of the House of Lords “across the political spectrum” support the principles of his report; and that “Doing nothing is not an option”, as “there isn’t a cheaper and more effective way of making the kind of change we all think is necessary.”
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Next steps for NHS reform – key dates
NHS reforms continue this year with the formation of Health Education England – the body that will oversee workforce planning and education and training of the healthcare workforce; and the NHS Trust Development Authority which will be responsible for governance of the NHS Trusts and hold them to account.
Free dementia toolkit for care homes
Care Fit for VIPs is a free online toolkit to help care homes improve the quality of their dementia care.
The kit consists of three tools:
VIP stands for:
Contact: Simon Foster, 07432 133 381, web: www.e4c.co.uk
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The kit consists of three tools:
- a real time assessment tool – allowing continuous monitoring of progress in providing person centred care and identification of priorities for improvement
- a searchable toolkit of resources – helping individuals to find the best resources online, including video, e-learning, checklists, creative ideas, books, training and resolutions to problems
- an online improvement cycle – aiding the creation and recording of PDSAs (Plan, Do, Study, Act) improvement cycles.
VIP stands for:
- values – recognise the value of all human life regardless of age or ability
- individuals – focussed on each unique person
- perspective – looking at the world through the eyes of the person needing care
- social – seeing and responding to a person rather than a unit of care
Contact: Simon Foster, 07432 133 381, web: www.e4c.co.uk
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Fall detector data available
Presentations from the West Midlands Fall Detector Dissemination event, held in December 2011, are now available on line.
The 14 month long project has been set up to observe the use of fall detectors, and ensure they are deployed in the most efficient and effective way.
Approximately 800 people fall every day in the West Midlands, and for people aged 65 and over falls are a major cause of injury and death.
Direct correlation has been found between recovery and how long people lie on the ground.
Detectors can provide an early alert after a fall, but their use varies across the region and, due to poor design, the gadgets available often fail to meet the needs of some individuals.
Organisations taking part are the West Midlands Region Telehealthcare Network, Warwickshire NHS, The Health Design and Technology Institute of Coventry University, and the JIP West Midlands.
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The 14 month long project has been set up to observe the use of fall detectors, and ensure they are deployed in the most efficient and effective way.
Approximately 800 people fall every day in the West Midlands, and for people aged 65 and over falls are a major cause of injury and death.
Direct correlation has been found between recovery and how long people lie on the ground.
Detectors can provide an early alert after a fall, but their use varies across the region and, due to poor design, the gadgets available often fail to meet the needs of some individuals.
Organisations taking part are the West Midlands Region Telehealthcare Network, Warwickshire NHS, The Health Design and Technology Institute of Coventry University, and the JIP West Midlands.
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Social work college open for members
The College of Social Work has officially opened for business and is inviting social workers to join.
The College has been set up in response to recommendations made by the Social Work Task Force which carried out a two year review of the profession.
Fifteen recommendations were made for improving and reforming social work, including establishment of an independent national college.
The organisation will provide leadership, a clear voice in public debate, policy development and delivery, and set professional standards.
Membership will cost employed social workers £60 a year.
The College has been set up in response to recommendations made by the Social Work Task Force which carried out a two year review of the profession.
Fifteen recommendations were made for improving and reforming social work, including establishment of an independent national college.
The organisation will provide leadership, a clear voice in public debate, policy development and delivery, and set professional standards.
Membership will cost employed social workers £60 a year.
Home improvement funds for older people
Funds have been allocated to help older people remain independent in their own homes, particularly after leaving hospital.
Home Improvement Agencies will be given government funding of £51 million to provide:
An additional £20 million has been confirmed for the Disabled Facilities Grant, bringing the total to £200 million this year.
Home Improvement Agencies will be given government funding of £51 million to provide:
- housing advice and assistance with moving to more suitable accommodation if needed
- handyperson services such as small home repairs, home safety and security adaptations
- energy efficiency advice
- help with arranging for adaptations and home repairs to be made including grab rails, stair lifts and major work such as ground floor extensions.
An additional £20 million has been confirmed for the Disabled Facilities Grant, bringing the total to £200 million this year.
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