The relationship between health and social services : Government response to the first report of the Health Committee on the relationship between health and social services, Session 1998-99 / presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty, April 1999.

  • Great Britain. Department of Health.
Date:
1999
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: The relationship between health and social services : Government response to the first report of the Health Committee on the relationship between health and social services, Session 1998-99 / presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty, April 1999. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    proposals the Government intends to issue guidance in the summer on three areas: finance & management, staffing & training and information issues. This will be developed in discussion with representatives from the field and others. e establish incentives and remove barriers and perverse incentives, to encourage joint working; The proposals set out in the Government’s discussion document Partnership in Action, and being taken forward in the Health Bill, will remove the barriers and create the incentives which the Committee seek to ensure joint working takes place. In addition, the NHS Executive is currently developing new arrangements to encourage innovation and stimulate improving performance in the delivery of Health Improvement Programmes (HImPs), the local strategy for improving health and health care. One such arrangement is a HImP Performance Reward Scheme. This is referred to in more detail in response to recommendations 17 & 18. e ensure effectiveness of joint working through performance monitoring; The Government is committed not only to joint performance monitoring but also to joint objectives for health and social care. The National Priorities Guidance? for 1999/00-2001/02 issued in September 1998 achieves this for the first time. — The effectiveness of the new measures introduced by the Health Bill, and of joint working more generally, will be monitored by the NHS and Social Care Regional Offices. These Offices are increasingly working together to develop joint performance management approaches in the local context and their boundaries — will be co-terminous from 1 April 1999. The Performance Assessment Frameworks for the NHS? and Personal Social Services* (PSS) have been drawn ~ up to align as nearly as possible, given their different contexts. A number of common Interface Indicators are included in the proposals for both these Frameworks. Securing improved performance against these indicators will require contributions from both health and social care. e take steps to ensure that best practice is shared. The Government seeks to share best practice wherever possible, for example, through the dissemination of Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) reports such as — Getting Better? about hospital discharge, the report of the Emergency Services Action Team® which drew together some of the lessons to be learned from the use of winter pressures monies and a recent publication on innovations in therapy services’. The NHS Executive is currently exploring methods of sharing benchmarking data and disseminating best practice both locally and nationally. A database of Service Delivery Practice (SDP) is being developed for inclusion in the NHS Intranet website to facilitate the sharing of good practice. Staff will be able to share approaches which have worked well locally and which could be helpful more widely. The continuing programme of SSI Inspections of social services and the Joint Reviews by the SSI and the Audit Commission has proved to be an effective mechanism for identifying and promulgating good practice in social services. In addition, the Government is committed to sharing lessons learnt and good practice that arises from the use of the Partnership in Action flexibilities. The Government will also be promoting the wider development and spread of good practice through the Beacon Services initiatives in both the NHS and local government. The NHS Beacon Services initiative will identify over 100 beacons in 1999 and is open to those who provide services to patients — for example NHS