Cheshire CC and four local primary care trusts (PCTs) are implementing a new IT system to carry out joint health and social care assessments of elderly people. The system, said to be a first for a local authority, meets the government's requirements for assessing patients and sharing information across health and social care boundaries. IBM, Esprit and TSO – formerly HM Stationery Office – are to design, build and implement the £793,000 IT system to help the authority and the trusts carry out the Single Assessment Process.
Alan Allman, senior IT manager at Cheshire CC told Government Computing News that the council is working closely with the NHS IT programme, Connecting for Health, to put systems in place while an electronic care record is being developed.
"The Single Assessment Process will be delivered as part of the national programme for IT. I'm working with the cluster on delivery of the solution as part of an interim measure with IBM before we get further along with work to create an electronic record for health and social care," he said on 30 August 2005.
"It could take some time for a system which local government staff can use to be put in place, but we are moving ahead with our solution."
The PCTs involved in the project are Eastern Cheshire, Central Cheshire, Cheshire West and Ellesmere Port and Neston.
Jacqui Harvey, chief executive of Ellesmere Port and Neston PCT, said: "Improving the flow of patient information between the many different organisations that care for older people is a fundamental building block to streamlining the assessment process in the best interests of our patients. I am delighted that we are, together, pursuing an IT based solution that will help us achieve this goal."
The technology to be used is known as a Minimum Data Set protocol and is accredited by the Department of Health. It provides decision support for health and social care staff by automatically highlighting areas of concern and helps them to create a care plan.
Allman said the "large scale implementation" using the technology is the first of its kind in local government.
The authorities will use the system to allow staff to adopt mobile working practices, minimise data collection and share information securely. Assessors will be given IT training to help them use the system.
Staff will pilot the use of digital pens, tablet PCs and other mobile devices over the next six months as they go about their home assessments. The system will go live in January 2006 and will initially serve 1,000 health and social care professionals across the trusts and the council. Eventually, over 2000 staff are expected to use the system.
Quelle: KableNET, 30.08.2005
