Growth and development.pdf

North AyrshireThe Council plans to have a local Transition Planning Officer to work with young people withlearning disabilities at the transition between children’s and adult services. A special needsco-ordinator has been appointed to improve services for children with special educational needs.The joint strategy for mental health services has yet to be fully implemented due to redirectionof resources by health, which has prevented an action plan being completed for investmentand implementation. An all-Ayrshire mental health service is in place for some childrenalthough the service offered is limited. Integrated mental health teams of social workers andcommunity psychiatric nurses are co-located but not under single management. Recent serviceinitiatives include the Health and Mind day service run on a clubhouse model. There is a respiteflat for adults who use mental health services, which can prevent admissions to acutepsychiatric services.Joint training is being carried out on the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and a draftprocedural document has been written.Single shared assessment is being developed on an all-Ayrshire basis. A local assessment toolhas been agreed and is being piloted by staff across agencies, with the aim of implementingthe process for older people by spring 2003. First developments will be required to fulfilexpectations to implement SSA for all core groups. Access to resources following assessmentis varied: district nurses pass completed assessments to care managers to access resourcesand make placements, and GPs can access services directly through emergency out of hoursservices. Direct access by assessors in any agency will, in the long term, reduce duplication.Between 1999 and 2000 the number of people receiving a community care service for physicaldisability decreased significantly.Sensory impairment services have been merged into a single team, based in one location witha single Team Leader. Services are also provided by voluntary organisations. Following abortiveefforts to develop an all-Ayrshire multi-agency resource group, a working group of the threeAyrshire councils is reviewing services issue by issue.The development and implementation of joint planning and the Joint Future agenda is led inNorth Ayrshire by a Joint Planning Group. This group is developing the Local PartnershipAgreement for Older People’s Services. Links with the Ayrshire level Joint Development andResource Group are maintained and focus on strategic and Ayrshire-wide issues. The Counciland its health partners have reached agreement on elements of the joint resourcing pot foraligned budgets, although both the NHS Trusts have difficulty disaggregating spending onservices for older people between the council areas.179