JPIAF 8: GUIDANCE NOTES FOR ACCESS TO RESOURCES, ACROSS AGENCY BOUNDARIES, FOLLOWING SINGLE SHARED ASSESS MENT FOR 2005-06

1 In line with the original guidance for JPIAF 8 2005-06, it is acknowledged that local partnership areas will have in place, under their local agreement their arrangements for accessing resources between social work, health and housing. This local joint resourcing framework will have been agreed under JPIAF 4.

Definitions

2 Direct Access

2.1 In terms of the JPIAF 8 reporting arrangements outlined in CCD 5/2005 partnership areas are only required to report on "the type of services or resources that may be accessed by any lead assessor in an agency other than the assessors employing agency, under the local agreement for accessing resources between social work, health and housing". This is the definition used for " direct access".

2.2 For clarity, for 2005-06 partnerships are asked in JPIAF 8 to identify the level of resource that is directly accessible to lead assessors across agency boundaries, not the amount of resource that has in reality been directly accessed across agencies during the year.

3 Direct Referral

3.1 Direct Referral: it is acknowledged that for health services, and some social work services, further assessment is often required, but that the lead assessor for SSA can make a direct referral to the appropriate professional without going through an intermediary (for example, the GP). This should be distinguished from direct access when partnership areas are reporting on JPIAF 8.

3.2 Several partnerships were clear that direct referrals have increased as a result of the SSA process and this will have reduced waiting times (which is measured within JPIAF 6. JPIAF 6 and JPIAF 8 are closely linked and will identify and measure trends around faster access, the spread of lead assessors and waiting times to services. Partnerships also pointed out that JPIAF 6 and JPIAF 8 measure the current position only and that they would use JPIAF 10 (the Whole Systems Indicator) and JPIAF 11 (Local Improvement Targets) to demonstrate how they plan to take issues around access to services and waiting times forward and their progress against those plans.

Quantifying Direct Access to Resources

4 Partnerships should report the level of resource to which staff have access in other agencies as categorised in the JPIAF 8 reporting arrangements, and in the broad percentage terms set out.

For clarity, partnerships should look at level of resource that can be directly accessed as:

0 = no access by that group of staff to other agency's resources is in place

1 = up to 25% access to other agencies resources is in place

2 = 26% - 50% access to other agency's resources is in place

3 = 51% - 75% access to other agency's resources is in place

4 = 76% - 100% access to other agency's resources is in place

5 For example, where the District Nurse has direct access, as lead assessor, to 10 hours of homecare, the percentage could be a calculation of the total number of packages of care of 10 hours or less that are in place, expressed as a percentage of the overall homecare resource.

6 The meeting agreed that how the level of resource which is directly accessible across agency boundaries is calculated will be decided by the partnership in a way that is appropriate in the local area and which takes account of the local joint resourcing agreement, and agreed local protocols and joint eligibility criteria (where these exist) for access to resources.

7 Key areas for inclusion in JPIAF 8 are home care, equipment and adaptations, and meals at home, which would set a useful baseline, but partnerships should include all services where there is clarity around direct access and should quantify that in line with guidance set out above and in Circular CCD 5/2005.

8 It is recognised that it would be difficult to quantify the level of direct referral in percentage terms, but a number of partnership areas considered it would be possible to reflect the benefits achieved by direct referral for physiotherapy, in order to evidence the reduction in the gate-keeping process by SSA.

9 In order to make the information in JPIAF 8 useful both to local partners and to the national partners, partnerships are asked to be explicit in their returns on:

• Whether their returns are based on the total value of resources detailed in their local Joint Resourcing Agreements;

• If not, which specific services have they quantified and used as the basis of their return on JPIAF 8;

• Whether they are referring to direct access or to direct referral (eg it may be that in some areas all access by social workers to NHS resources is in fact direct referral, but that in others there is direct access by social workers to day hospital services).

Partnership areas will continue to report on JPIAF 8 in terms already outlined in the circular.

MARGARET-ANNE DALE

Joint Future Unit

Community Care Division 2

3rd Floor East Rear

St Andrew's House

Ext 45331

21 April 2006

ANNEX A

SERVICE ACCESS FRA MEWORK

The Service Access Framework for Older People provided at the meeting by South Lanarkshire Partnership was discussed. It was agreed to include this framework, with some changes, to provide a potential template for partnership areas to use locally if desired. This is in no way prescriptive and is intended only to form a discussion point to enable local partners to identify specific services for reporting on levels of direct access, where the local partnership is unable to use their Joint Resourcing Agreement as the basis of their response to JPIAF 8.

The service access framework may be a useful tool for partnership areas to use prior to the submission of the JPIAF 8 returns. The list is not exhaustive and other services may be added if applicable for local areas in terms of their local agreement. The service access framework will assist in the process of identifying whether lead assessors make direct referrals to the service or have direct access following the SSA.

Please note this template for the service access framework is for local use only, and not required for the JPIAF 8 return.