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This paper aims to consider the new role of Client Support Co‐ordinator (CSC), which is being developed by some law firms, and the assistance this can provide for brain injury survivors and their families and carers.

This article considers how the CSC can assist in the early acute stages following acquired brain injury. It is designed to take the reader through the benefits that a CSC can bring in supporting not only the brain injury survivor but also their families and carers. The literature is reviewed briefly, followed by reflections and suggestions which are based on this review and on practical experience.

This role is designed not to replace but to supplement existing social care providers and to bridge the gap in a legal case between receiving first instructions and the instruction of a private case manager. By adopting a more proactive, holistic case management type service at the acute stage the rehabilitation outcomes can be improved and families and carers better supported. Specialist brain and serious injury lawyers involved in dealing with brain injury litigation will often face a number of practical problems prior to being able to prove legal liability. Once primary liability is confirmed lawyers can proceed to obtain interim payments to pay for a private case manager who will then arrange the client's care and rehabilitation package.

This article shows that during the initial process, this guidance and support for brain injury survivors and their families and carers is vital and any additional support that can be provided should be sought at an early stage. This paper demonstrates the efficacy of employing a client support co‐ordinator in this period.

Integrated care is gaining popularity in Australian public policy as an acceptable means to address the needs of the unwell aged. The purpose of this paper is to investigate contemporary models of integrated care for community dwelling older persons in Australia and discuss how public policy has been interpreted at the service delivery level to improve the quality of care for the older person.

A scoping review was conducted for peer-reviewed and grey literature on integrated care for the older person in Australia. Publications from 2007 to present that described community-based enablement models were included.

Care co-ordination is popular in assisting the older person to bridge the gap between existing, disparate health and social care services. The role of primary care is respected but communication with the general practitioner and introduction of new roles into an existing system is challenging. Older persons value the role of the care co-ordinator and while robust model evaluation is rare, there is evidence of integrated care reducing emergency department presentations and stabilising quality of life of participants. Technology is an underutilised facilitator of integration in Australia. Innovative funding solutions and a long-term commitment to health system redesign is required for integrated care to extend beyond care co-ordination.

This scoping review summarises the contemporary evidence base for integrated care for the community dwelling older person in Australia and proposes the barriers and enablers for consideration of implementation of any such model within this health system.

Looks at New Zealand’s provision for the disabled. Reports on evidence from observation of the actual assessment process. Empirical data are used about the perceptions of both the assessors and the clients. Determines whether the stated aims of government policy are achieved. Appears that assessment is now fairer and provides for greater dignity and choice for clients. However, there is still room for improvement.

This article aims to describe an evaluation of a national pilot programme of telephone support services for older people in England and Scotland and is focussed on organisational outcomes.

The “Call in Time Programme” was funded by the national charity Help the Aged and comprised eight telephone support projects in different locations, managed by different voluntary or charitable organisations. Researchers used semi‐structured interviews and a Delphi questionnaire to obtain the views of project coordinators.

Although the projects were found to provide a much needed service for socially isolated and lonely older people, the study identified four key areas of concern: operational structure; promotion and publicity; recruitment of volunteers; referral processes. Project coordinators wanted more autonomy and the flexibility to respond to older people's needs. Projects were limited by restrictions imposed by funding bodies or services themselves.

Project coordinators recommended more local control over project finances, clear referral pathways linking voluntary and statutory bodies, long‐term funding involving project coordinators and older people in planning and delivery, more training for project coordinators, clear record keeping and a coordinated approach to promotion and publicity.

While other studies have highlighted the importance of user involvement, this study provides valuable evidence demonstrating that those responsible for managing and delivering telephone support services, and service users, are instrumental in decision making and planning processes. As organisations are streamlined in efforts to increase efficiency and effectiveness, there is a need for a wider cultural change in the way supportive programmes are viewed and funded.

In April 2010, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust won Regional Innovation Funding to recruit, train and employ six peer support workers in community mental health teams. At the time, practical examples of the employment of peer support workers were lacking in England. The aim of this paper is to communicate the key lessons learned in this first year of peer support in the hope that these will provide a foundation for other services to build upon.

The project was evaluated using a simple evaluation model reflecting service structure, processes and outcomes, collected through qualitative methods: documentary analysis, semi‐structured interviews and a focus group.

The peer support employment process has been broken down into its fundamental components (selection, recruitment, training, supervision relationships, recovery approach and discharge of clients) and within each of these sections a brief narrative is provided to explain some of the challenges faced. Each section ends with recommendations based on the lessons learned as a result of the pilot study.

A second paper will examine the nature of peer support: what the peers did with clients and what difference this made.

At present many mental health services are planning to employ peer support workers and this paper provides some early guidance for implementing this process in the NHS.

This integrated care study seeks to highlight how voluntary sector “wellbeing co-ordinators” co-located in a horizontally and vertically integrated, multidisciplinary community hub within one locality of an Integrated Care Organisation contribute to complex, person-centred, co-ordinated care.

This is a naturalistic, mixed method and mixed data study. It is complementing a before-and-after study with a sub-group analysis of people receiving input from the wider hub (including Wellbeing Co-ordination and Enhanced Intermediate Care), qualitative case studies, interviews, and observations co-produced with embedded researchers-in-residence.

The cross-case analysis uses trajectories and outcome patterns across six client groups to illustrate the bio-psycho-social complexity of each group across the life course, corresponding with the range of inputs offered by the hub.

To consider the effectiveness and mechanisms of complex system-wide interventions operating at horizontal and vertical interfaces and researching this applying co-produced, embedded, naturalistic and mixed methods approaches.

How a bio-psycho-social approach by a wellbeing co-ordinator can contribute to improved person reported outcomes from a range of preventive, rehabilitation, palliative care and bereavement services in the community.

To combine knowledge about individuals held in the community to align the respective inputs, and expectations about outcomes while considering networked pathways based on functional status, above diagnostic pathways, and along a life-continuum.

The hub as a whole seems to (1) Enhance engagement through relationship, trust and activation, (2) Exchanging knowledge to co-create a shared bio-psycho-social understanding of each individual’s situation and goals, (3) Personalising care planning by utilising the range of available resources to ensure needs are met, and (4) Enhancing co-ordination and ongoing care through multi-disciplinary working between practitioners, across teams and sectors.

In April 2010, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust won Regional Innovation Funding to recruit, train and employ six peer support workers in community mental health teams. At the time, practical examples of the employment of peer support workers were lacking in England. An earlier paper focuses on the lessons learned in this first year of peer support. The aim of this paper is to examine the nature and dynamics of peer support: what the peers did with clients and what difference this made.

The project was evaluated using a simple evaluation model reflecting service structure, processes and outcomes, collected through qualitative methods: documentary analysis, semi‐structured interviews and a focus group.

The six peers worked with 83 clients over the six month period. They offered emotional, practical, social support, support specific to care and support specific to recovery. They felt that the shared knowledge that they too had experienced mental health challenges was critical in engaging with clients in a trusting relationship and in informing their work.

In the absence of English service models for peer support workers, this paper provides some guidance for new peer support teams, and some evidence to support the helpful nature of peer support work.

The need for joint working between statutory and non‐statutory bodies is an important component of policy across the UK. While it is something that governments push for, it has not always been delivered effectively in practice. This paper reports on a project that sought to bring together statutory, voluntary and community sector bodies to help improve and strengthen the planning and commissioning of services from the third sector to support health and social care needs. The model was intended to provide planners with a single reference point for procurement of service packages from a combination of statutory, independent and third‐sector organisations for specific regional and local service‐user groups. We report on the experience of the first 18 months of this project, indicating that the project has been highly successful in the eyes of a range of stakeholders. Stakeholders from a range of backgrounds were far more positive about the experience than the literature would predict to be the case. Outcomes monitoring suggests that service users were far more independent and had seen improvements on a range of dimensions. The paper finishes by formulating suggestions for the factors which seem to have contributed to its success.

People with a history of homelessness often have complex needs and vulnerabilities which may affect their ability to manage future tenancies. If not given adequate support, there is a risk that their tenancies may break down causing a ‘revolving door’ of repeat homelessness. Having better information available at the point of re‐housing allows the receiving landlord to arrange appropriate housing‐related support from the start of the tenancy, reducing this risk. Local Authorities can assist by improving the way they gather, assess and share information about housing clients prior to their move on to permanent accommodation. One way of doing this is by using the Housing Corporation's Information Sharing Protocol. This article explains how the ISP was implemented in the City of Westminster.