Archived decisions

REPORT OF THE

EXECUTIVE MEMBER

SOCIAL CARE

PART II

INTEGRATION OF CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND COMMUNITY LEARNING DISABILITY SERVICES

1 The benefits gained by working jointly with health colleagues to deliver services to people with learning disabilities and family carers have been recognised both nationally and locally for many years.

2 The Government White Paper "Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21^st Century" requires Social Services Departments and NHS Trusts to work collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for people with learning disabilities and family carers. Partnership arrangements are encouraged in the Health Act 1999 with the potential use of "flexibilities" including integrated provision. This reinforces the way that Social Services and Health colleagues have been working in Hampshire and contributes to the achievement of the Corporate Strategies.

3 The long history of joint working in Hampshire has resulted in significant improvements in the quality of life that people with learning disabilities experience, most notably through the re-provision of long-stay hospitals with ordinary housing in the community where people are supported by care and support agencies. This work is continuing with the reprovision of Locally Based Hospital Units. These are services for up to 20 people that are run by health in buildings that are no longer fit for the purpose. The residents of the Locally Based Hospital Unit will be moving into ordinary housing and like the residents of the long stay hospitals, will receive support from care and support agencies.

4 Alongside direct service improvements, work has been undertaken with the Care Management and Community Disability Teams in the three NHS providers (Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust, Hampshire Partnership Trust and Surrey and Hampshire Borders Trust) to explore and implement changes in the way they practise to provide a more holistic and joined-up approach to working with people with learning disabilities and family carers. The experience of integrating mental health teams is being drawn upon to inform the work in the learning disability service. Joint workshops and joint meetings have enabled staff to understand each others roles and the demands and constraints of each others organisations. The increase in understanding has led to better joint working on individual cases where both health and social care needs have been identified.

5 A number of opportunities have arisen to develop this work further. In Eastleigh/Romsey a Team Manager has been appointed within Social Services who will work with Managers in Social Services and Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust to bring together a combined team, supported by two Senior Practitioners, one with a Social Services background and one with a Health background.

6 In the South East of the county, there is the potential to co-locate the care management and community learning disability teams in health accommodation in Waterlooville and Fareham.

7 The Executive Member was pleased to approve the strategic direction of joint working to achieve positive outcomes for people with learning disabilities and family carers and to streamline the processes for Health and Social Services to work effectively together through assessment and service design and delivery.

8 This supports Aims 1 and 6 of the Corporate Strategy.

Felicity Hindson, MBE

Executive Member for Social Care

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