‘The billion dollar question’: embedding prevention in older people’s services—10 ‘high impact’ changes.  Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham Policy discussion paper (August 2010)  This paper looks at the very real challenges of implementing preventative services in the context of increasing demographic and social pressures.  While acknowledging that prevention is difficult to prove the report suggests some interesting ways to further improve older people’s health and wellbeing and suggest arrangements to better preventative approaches. 

Adult social care information & advice services review: summary outcomes. Social Care National Skills Academy (August 2010)  Effective information and advice are central to the success of the personalisation agenda.  As part of the Transformation of Adult Social Care all local authorities are expected to have accessible, universal information and advice services in place by April 2011.  This review looked at how local authorities are progressing towards this goal.

Where next for health and social care integration?  NHS Confederation / Association of Directors of Adult Social Services Discussion paper  (June 2010)  Both the NHS Confederation and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have compiled a paper about the issues involved in the commissioning of integrated health and social care services to promote productive discussions in key stakeholder organisations.  It stresses the importance of good local relationships and joint strategies to the success of integration; it also looks at different models of integration and potential barriers to integration.

The DH Care Networks is under significant changes with the central DH Care Networks platform no longer existing. Each individual programme is, currently,  under review in regard to their website requirements.  However information on the individual programmes can be accessed via the following links:

• Integration
• Personalisation
• Prevention
• Building Community Capacity
• Independent Living Choices
• Dignity in Care
• Commissioning
• Dementia
• CSED
• CAF
• Personal Health Budgets

The National Market Development Forum has produced three briefing papers on market development which explore key challenges and develop approaches to improve the social care market. These have been developed out of the National Market Development Forum workshops with commissioners and providers from across the public, private and voluntary sectors.  It is a short life group and its purpose is to explore some of the challenges of market development in adult social care, and to consider practical and realistic ways in which partners can work together to address them in the future. The final papers will be published in 2010 and the Forum are looking for your views and comments to help inform them. 

Department of Health, Early experiences of implementing personal health budgets (July 2010). Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent (PSSRU), along with three other research institutions, carried out an evaluation for the Department of Health on how personal health budgets have been implemented in the respective pilot sites.  Challenges have involved risk management issues, enabling choice in under developed markets and cultural issues around professional's ‘letting go’ and trusting the budget holder to be the best judge of services they require.  The report also reflects on what factors help implementation including co-operation from the finance team and setting up peer support networks to assist budget holders.

Department of Health draft structural reform plan The Coalition Government sets outs its requirement for each government department to produce a Structural Reform Plan (SRP).  Each department including the Department of Health is expected to demonstrate how they will implement the reforms set out in the Coalition Agreement. These will be subject to the autumn Spending Review and the Government’s overall priority of reducing the financial deficit.  The Department of Health Draft Structural Reform Plan has set out the following priorities: a patient-led NHS, shift in resources to promote better healthcare outcomes,  fundamental changes to NHS accountability, promotion of better public health and major reform of social care.

Major funding and structural reform of the NHS for the next four years has been signalled by the Department of Health White paper, Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS.  The White paper sets out the intention to devolve power from Whitehall and instead place it with patients, the wider public, and professionals.  Emphasis will be on patient choice and better health outcomes.  It is expected that this will be achieved through GP commissioning via consortia arrangements in partnership with local authorities and the public via a new body, Local Health Watch.  This will entail a dismantling of Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.  Instead GP consortiums will be accountable to the NHS Commissioning Board and contracted provider services will be regulated by Monitor (economic regulator) and monitored by the Care Quality Commission.  The government envisages that this will reduce NHS management costs by 45% over four years.  This White Paper will be consulted on and the government will publish more details in readiness for the new Health Bill.

‘Only a footstep away’?: neighbourhoods, social capital and their place in the ‘big society’.  A skills for care workforce development background paper (June 2010) This
Skills for Care  paper looks at how local communities can support service users and carers in their community to contribute to the ‘big society’. The report explores how Skills for Care and other key stakeholders can build upon the skills of local people in communities to help them contribute to adult social care outcomes by helping vulnerable people in their communities.  The report contains a review of the literature around community skills and leadership approaches.

State of the adult social care workforce in England, 2010.  Skills for Care Skills for Care research report into the social care workforce in England.  The report provides useful statistics about the adult social care workforce.  The report statistics have derived from an improved data set; Skills for Care’s National Minimum Data Set for Social Care and national statistics from the Office of National Statistics.

Adult social care outcomes tool kit (ASCOT) Developed by the Personal Social Services Research Unit is a new and important tool kit that enables commissioners to actively measure the benefits of social care interventions in terms of the individual’s quality of life. This can measured by eight domains; accommodation, cleanliness and comfort, control over daily life, dignity, food and nutrition, occupation, personal cleanliness and comfort, safety and social participation and involvement. These factors can then be weighted according to perceived importance given to them by the general public/ service user. These findings can then be considered in the context of wider cost data to establish whether a service is providing good outcomes for the amount of money invested.

McKinsey report on the fiscal future of the NHS Department of Health (2 June 2010)
In February 2009 McKinsey was asked by the Department to provide advice on how commissioners might achieve world class NHS productivity to inform the second year of the world class commissioning assurance system and future commissioner development.  As well as staff productivity, the report identifies inefficiencies in the patient pathway.  For example, it states that around 40 per cent of patients in a typical hospital do not need to be there at any one time.  The report outlines specific opportunities for improvement including driving through cost efficiencies in all provider services, optimising spend and ensuring compliance/ standards and the shifting of care into more cost effective settings.

Person Centred Planning Advice for Commissioners Department of Health (March 2010). This document informs commissioners how to use person-centred planning approaches to enable person-centred commissioning to take place.  It sets out what is expected of commissioners to ensure person centred commissioning, describing what processes are available for commissioning at both an individual and strategic level and how the market can be developed to facilitate such arrangements.  It also provides a reflection on upon the success of personalisation and draws attention to relevant National indicators that may be used to demonstrate successes.

Involving service users in shaping local services Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) A new study looking at service user engagement. The study brought together a group of London commissioners and service users and discussed with them how they could be involved in shaping local services. The project reflected on current practice and considers how it can be improved in the future.

Total Place: Spend Counting Analysis and Customer Insight Status Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) (April 2010). Research on the spend and customer insight elements of thirteen Total Place pilots in England.  The research shows the strengths and weaknesses of spend counting and customer insight and providing recommendations for action in Central Government and at a local level.

Total Place: A whole area approach to public services HM Treasury and DCLG (March 2010). An initiative that was launched at the 2009 Budget as a key recommendation of the Operational Efficiency Programme.  It sets out new freedoms to encourage local leadership and better collaborative working to deliver better outcomes and value for money.  It introduces a reduction in central performance and financial controls and delivers new freedoms enabling places to collaborate better, to invest in prevention and to drive growth and inclusion.

Regional factsheets on Carers (March 2010) The Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE) at Leeds University, commissioned by DH, has produced a set of 9 regional factsheets on carers.  These factsheets include information on carers in each region and provides useful data for commissioning, contracting and service development.

Prioritising need in the context of Putting People First: a whole system approach to eligibility for social care - guidance on eligibility criteria for adult social care, England 2010 New guidance on eligibility for adult social care that replaces Fair access to care services – guidance on eligibility criteria for adult social care 2003

State of Care CQC (Care Quality Commission) annual report looking at the state of care in England.  It provides details on how well health and social care services have performed in 2009, and highlights improvements.  There is a useful webpage with videos and service user's personal stories.

The case for social care reform – the wider economic and social benefits, Health Services Management Centre (HSMC)   This study identifies five key mechanisms for trying to deliver reform: strategic commissioning in a mixed economy of care, greater collaboration between health and social care, personalisation through direct payments and individual budgets, greater use of IT (including telecare and internal systems) and workforce reform. This paper also includes an interesting discussion of integrated care (February 2010)

Personalisation and the social care revolution: future options for the reform of public services Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) Identifies five key dimensions for personal budgets (redefined as Conditional Resource Entitlements): autonomy, flexibility, targeting, support and conditionality (January 2010)

Making Policy Count: Developing Indicators for Health and Social Care Partnerships: Position Paper This Department of Health paper updates the current work developing new performance indicators for adult social care, and health and care partnerships, setting the context and demonstrating recent progress.  It asks for stakeholder engagement by requesting comments and feedback and offers to pilot work (December 2009)

Response to the consultation on the revision of the Fair Access to Care Services guidance to support councils to determine eligibility for social care services.  The Department of health recently published a report detailing responses of the recent public consultation on revised guidance on eligibility for social care, which closed on 6 October 2009. The revised guidance will replace the 2003 Fair Access to Care Services guidance (December 2009)

Practice-based commissioning: budget guidance for 2010/11. Methodological changes and toolkit guide (14/1/2010)  The Department of health has issues a tool kit to enable PCTs to fairly determine weighted capitation indicative budgets at a practice level. Along with the toolkit is new guidance and a PBC mailbox option for professionals to feedback any comments on the content of the both the tool kit and guidance

NW JOINT IMPROVEMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME OF SUPPORT TO JOINT STRATEGIC NEEDS ASSESSMENT

The Department of Health JSNA Reference Group has been working for the last year, looking at ways of strengthening the JSNA process and the key role it plays within the commissioning cycle. 

Call for Case Studies

The Group wants to establish a more comprehensive national picture of JSNA good practice case studies. We're looking for regional opinions, thoughts and comments on convincing and/or innovative JSNAs that have been considered genuinely useful by their LSPs. NWJIP is already aware of some areas of good practice and will approach some authorities direct. However, we know we do not know of everyone who has a “story to tell”. Please get in touch with David Whyte (NWJIP Commissioning Work stream Lead) to develop a brief overview of your success.

Secondment Opportunities

Three opportunities now exist for short secondments to DH to lead work relating to (a) Children (b) Vulnerable adults and (c) Third Sector partnership and community engagement. Job specifications and details can be found here:

DH JSNA Secondments

• Children's Commissioning Group
• Vulnerable Adults
• Third Sector Community Engagement 

22nd December 2009

The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO), commissioned by the Department of Health, has developed a tool which helps commissioners to link health outcomes and expenditure. This tool can be used by all PCTs and there are also Spend and Outcome Factsheets for every PCT in England.  The capacity to link spend and outcome is made explicit in two of the World Class Commissioning competencies; '6 prioritise investment' and '11 make sound financial investments'; this practical tool is devised to support commissioners to do this.  Please click here for further information and to download PCT Spend and Outcome Factsheet and Tool.

The North West Joint Improvement Partnership (NWJIP) has recently published its Business Plan.  Please click here to download a copy.  

The National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS) is a suite of analytical tools and information resources allowing for analysis of Social Care data to support activities such as planning, performance management and service improvement. Analytical tools include NASCIS interactive Online Analytical Processing Tool and Standard Reports. Also included are links to POPPI, PANSI and FLoSC tools developed by the Care Services Efficiency Delivery Programme (CSED)

Improving Information for Stakeholders: A report of a primary care trust and strategic health authority working group to improve community information. Department of Health report bringing together findings of a joint working group to improve community information. December 2009.

Your Health, Your Way: A guide to long-term conditions and self care for social care professionals.  Department of Health report that discusses and sets out points for consideration in regard to personalised support planning for people with long-term conditions and supported self care.  December 2009

Care Quality Commission's (CQC) First major statement on the quality of Adult Social Care.

Transforming Adult Social Care (TASC) Sharing Knowledge and Putting People First  Website developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in partnership with DH, ADASS, IDeA and Skills for Care and the Joint Improvement Partnerships (JIP’s).  The website promotes knowledge sharing and development of tools and resources to support Transformation.

Improving Quality in Primary Care. Guidance from the Department of Health to support Primary Care Trusts to commission services in conjunction with local clinicians and other stakeholders to ensure continuous quality and productivity in primary care services.  October 2009

Integration and older people - A briefing paper for the Integrated Care Network.This briefing addresses some key developments in relation to older people and aims to raise awareness amongst commissioners and providers about the factors influencing integration and the benefits it can bring.  It is one in a series of three new briefings on integration from the ICN.  The others are on Mental Health and Learning Disability and are all on the ICN website. October 2009

Means to an end - Joint financing across health and social care Councils and NHS bodies must work together to provide responsive services for people who need both health and social care. This Audit Commission report examines how they jointly fund such partnerships and the impact this has on adult service users. The report draws upon the preceding Audit Commission publication, Clarifying joint financing arrangements and summarises good practice in this area. October 2009

Use of resources in adult social care: A guide for local authorities This Department of Health guide is designed to help local authority senior managers self-assess their use of resources and review their commissioning and purchasing arrangements to be in line with personalisation requirements.  There are useful case studies and good practice examples to draw from. October 2009.

Commissioning for Carers and Commissioning for Carers: an Action Guide for Decision Makers .These guides are funded by the Department of Health and serve as blueprint for better commissioning to achieve high quality outcomes and targets in respect of carers. September 2009

Guidance on Direct Payments for Community Care, Services for Carers and Children's Services: England 2009 - The aim of this guidance is to assist local councils in making, managing and administering direct payments. It has been updated to reflect recent legislative changes that extend direct payments to previously excluded groups. September 2009.

More Responsive Public Services? A Guide to Commissioning Migrant and Refugee Community Organisations (MRCO's) -  Migration is changing the face of Britain’s population. It has accounted for about half of Britain’s population growth in the last ten years. This guide’s main aim is to set out the case for MRCOs as providers of commissioned public services – both to show commissioners why they should consider them, and help MRCOs understand and form their own views on what their potential roles could be. July 2009.

Shaping the Future of Care Together sets out a vision for a new care and support system. The Green Paper highlights the challenges faced by the current system and the need for radical reform, to develop a National Care Service that is fair, simple and affordable for everyone. It sets out a number of consultation questions and asks everyone to provide their views about how they think Government can make this vision a reality and develop a care and support system fit for the 21st century. July 2009.

The Framework for Procuring External Support for Commissioners (FESC) is a practical and cost effective tool to help primary care trusts address gaps in commissioning capability or capacity by providing easy access to high quality commissioning solutions from pre-qualified and experienced private sector partners. June 2009.

Commissioning Services out of Joint Strategic Needs Assessment - A Discussion Paper reports the findings of a small-scale survey undertaken in the North West in order to
determine the priorities for Regional JSNA development activity in 2009/10.

The Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy outlines the workforce implications of the Putting People First programme and provides a high-level framework to support the transformation of the adult social care workforce. April 2009.