Consolidating the future of the NHS
Consolidating the future of the NHS
The NHS England planning guidance was published at the end of March, and the key word in the document is…
Over the last year, I have worked with a number of IMPOWER’s clients to tackle demand on social care services by reviewing and bolstering the role of their early intervention (or early help) offer. On some of these projects we’ve used IMPOWER’s Service Effectiveness Review (SER) tool – a methodology developed in-house to evaluate existing services which are contributing to the council’s early intervention aims. The tool looks at the effectiveness of each activity within the service (Is it measurable? Is it changing lives for the better? Is it tackling the root causes of social care demand?) and at how effective the service is at targeting those most in need (How easy is it for families to access the service? Is there a waiting list? How are families identified?).
Where we’ve used the tool, similar themes have emerged, including the lack of attention paid to measuring service impact (the classic output vs. outcomes scenario) and the often anecdotal evidence used to prove how families’ outcomes are changing.
What’s as interesting is how councils are targeting their scant resources on those families who are most in need of support. In other words, how can councils be confident that the investment they’re putting into services is concentrated on those families who need it most? We’re starting to explore the answer to this with one of our clients but here are my thoughts:
Our Chief Exec recently wrote “with a 59% reduction in central government funding over the next five years there is no one service that can be protected without damaging another. Local politicians will be forced to choose”. Focusing on using data better, targeting families most in need and gathering community intelligence will be needed now more than ever if early intervention is to survive and thrive in 2016 and beyond.
In these challenging times, how can councils ensure they target those families who might currently be ‘off the radar’? I’d be keen to hear from councils and organisations who have started to tackle this issue.
Image from Kaboom pics