Growth and development.pdf

AberdeenThe three councils and health partners have a joint executive group to manage change and ajoint project group for implementation. Specific changes introduced are:• joint training, with a Grampian-wide training co-ordinator;• creation of a community learning disability team; and• involvement of users and carers in the commissioning process.Between 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 there was a massive increase in the number of people whowere receiving a community care service for mental illness. A Mental Health Framework Groupis working on improvements in accommodation, employment, carers, service users, dementia/old age psychiatry, and monitoring and evaluation. Resources for change are derived from healthdevelopment allocations, mental health and well-being funding, resource transfers and mentalillness specific grant. Resources are being moved from hospital to the community. An outreachteam for severe and enduring mental illness is being established.Multi-disciplinary mental health and old age psychiatry teams have been linked to GP practices.Social workers purchase and provide the care and home support workers are being introducedinto teams. A resettlement co-ordinator is to bring forward joint projects.On single shared assessment, the partners were progressing towards the Bottom Line. Theyhave adopted the Moray tool, and will mainstream existing effective systems. Information sharingwill be rolled out on the back of effective practice in, for example, the rapid response team.The Joint Future agenda sits well with the Council’s commitment to aberdeenfutures. Thoughpartner agencies were still working towards the Bottom Line, real progress was made onagreeing the partnership arrangements, to align budgets, a new joint post of change managerand having an effective Staff Forum. The resourcing pot has been discussed but not yetfinalised, for example to include housing and acute services. Integrated service management isin place for local teams and though agreed in principle has yet to be implemented above that.Planning for sensory impairment services in Aberdeen is carried out by a sensory disabilitymulti-agency task group, which secures the involvement of service users and carers andmaintains links with Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils. Voluntary organisations carry out mostassessments, provide a range of services commissioned and monitored by social work andsupply awareness training to social work staff.9