Health and Social Care update from our work as Strategic Partner (SP) to the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England
Disability Rights UK heads up a user-led consortium as one of 22 strategic partners in the voluntary sector. Our name is ‘Win-Win Alliance – disabled people leading change’ (WWA). This programme is commissioned by our system partners, the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England. As strategic partner we are well placed to raise particular challenges facing our members of disabled people’s user-led organisations. We also ensure that information and opportunities to engage with system partners reach our members through this and other updates, forums, meetings and discussions, and we regularly inform about funding opportunities (which you may pursue with or without Disability Rights UK). This month we particularly invite our members’ contributions to a new research & development project on ‘user-driven commissioning. For any comments and/or ideas about how to strengthen ‘disabled people leading change’, please get in touch with Bernd.Sass@disabilityrightsuk.org
With some support of the Strategic Partnership Programme and an ESRC grant we want to focus on ‘what makes change happen?’ The special thing about this initiative is that it has both development and research elements – so we can help make things better and then study the impact that this is having. If we co-produce projects, can we disabled people have a positive impact on professionals and on what they are doing? How does this happen?
Maybe your DPULO is already involved with the local Clinical Commissioning Group or Adult Social Care department – say on co-producing experience and outcome measures that would be written into provider contracts to determine (to an extent) the payment of these providers. Or peer support is really about to take off from a well resourced and supported basis in your local area?
If you would like to work with us on any such projects in the future or simply showcase what you have done, please get in touch with Bernd Sass at Disability Rights UK bernd.sass@disabilityrightsuk.org . Or call him directly on 07906 521536. www.Disability RightsUK.org has initiated user-driven commissioning, a tried and tested approach to translate lived experience, risk and protective factors in care pathways into metrics of experience and outcome measures (alongside further co-produced stages of commissioning and procurement) with a view to create a more directly accountable, user-owned and effective landscape of services and support.
One of our members recently replied: "You have given me lots of food for thought. I will do some initial thinking and explore some ideas with our ILS Coordinator and with my Integrated Personal Commissioning colleagues."
See also our quarterly highlights!
Guardian: How charities big and small can help the NHS
The Guardian published an article on how patient experience and services could improve through partnerships with national and local community groups.
It went on to say that through the new vanguard sites, NHS England has started to utilise and support the work of smaller charities such as Voluntary Action Calderdale and patient groups, eg working with local GPs to improve community health engagement through activities such as flu friends' service and patient experience groups.
Neil Churchill, director for patient experience at NHS England said: "There is an awful lot of energy and dynamism in some of those small groups ... [they are] really demonstrating leadership and helping the NHS to learn and improve at a local level."
There can sometimes be misunderstandings about the role division between smaller user-led organisations and larger charities. Disability Rights very much welcomes the conclusion by Olivia Butterworth, head of public participation at NHS England: “The overall ambition [for charity involvement] is that it goes back to the individual so that people are able to be involved in influencing their own care and support.”
NHS England invitation to support the development of a ‘Quick Guide: Supporting self-funders’ choice at discharge’, Manchester, 14 December
Following the publication of the suite of ‘Quick Guides’ to support better working with the care sector by NHS England in October 2015, a further guide is being developed, ‘Quick Guide: Supporting self-funders’ choice at discharge’. This new Quick Guide aims to provide better support to patients and families in making their choices and to support health and care systems to reduce delayed transfers of care due to ‘patient and family choice’.
Places can be booked at the link here. Please let us know if you want to discuss anything beforehand or cannot take part but want us to feed in on your behalf.
To read more, go to: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/keogh-review/Pages/quick-guides.aspx
Accessible Information Standard - Implementation Grants: Supporting wider health and care economy implementation issues
Our health and social care system is at its core about service users and patients, and the care provided for them. A key part of this is to ensure that those people using health and social care services have their needs met.
Adult social care and NHS providers legally need to fully implement the accessible information standard by 31 July 2016. NHS England would like to invite applications for grants to support the implementation of the Accessible Information Standard in social and health care settings.
Applicants must be an NHS Organisation, a Local Authority or a Voluntary and Community Sector body.
Up to £15,000 will be awarded to each successful applicant to support activity with outputs and products that can be shared to support others implement the Accessible Information Standard. The grant money cannot be awarded to directly support or offset the costs of implementing the Standard in any organisation, including capital investment.
Please apply using the application form on our website, and return applications to alexander.pipkin@nhs.net before 12.00pm on Thursday 17 December.