Fallon, Paul Michael, (born 11 July 1952), independent health and social care consultant, since 2007; Head of Children’s Services and Director of Social Services, London Borough of Barnet, 2001–07

Author(s):  
Sarah McKenna ◽  
Aideen Maguire ◽  
Dermot O'Reilly

Background Research has consistently found a high prevalence of mental ill-health among children in out-of-home care. However, results have varied significantly by study location, type of care intervention, sample population and mental health measurement, and concerns have been raised about appropriate reference populations. In addition, little is known about children known to social services who remain with their birth families. Aim To examine mental ill-health amongst children known to social services based on care exposure including those who remain at home, those placed in foster care, kinship care or institutional care and the general population not known to social services. Methods Northern Ireland is unique in that has an integrated health and social care system and holds data centrally on all children known to social services. Social services data (1995-2015) will be linked to hospital discharge data (2010-2015), prescribed medication data (2010-2015), self-harm data (2010-2015) and death records (2010-2015) to investigate mental health outcomes in terms of psychiatric hospital admissions, psychotropic medication uptake, self-harm and suicide. Results Data cleaning has been completed and analysis is underway. Preliminary results will be available by December 2019. Descriptive statistics will provide a mental health profile of children in care compared not only to children in the general population but to those who are known to social services but remain in their own home. Regression models will determine which factors are most associated with poor mental health outcomes. Conclusion This project is the UK’s first population-wide data linkage study examining the mental health of children in the social care system, including looked-after children and those known to social services who remain in their own home. Project partners in the Department of Health recognise the potential of these findings to inform future policy relating to targeting interventions for children in receipt of social care services.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Andrea Giordano ◽  
Alison Neville

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients. Health and social care policy frameworks promote principles of service improvement and consistency, along with a focus on outcomes and resource effectiveness and interagency collaboration. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) coordinator role carries the responsibility of coordinating a response to individual referrals of abuse and neglect as described as part of the Designated Lead Manager role in the Wales Interim POVA Policy and Procedures for the POVA from abuse (Wales Adult Protection Coordinators Group, 2013). Design/methodology/approach – This paper will explore the benefits realised through a registered nurse being seconded from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board into a newly created joint adult protection Health Coordinator post within the Caerphilly County Borough Council social services department POVA team. Findings – This is the first example of such partnership working in adult protection in Wales and has provided a number of benefits in relation to: providing adult protection advice; coordinating the response to referrals of vulnerable adult abuse and neglect within health and social care settings; carrying out or buddying others to complete adult protection investigations; facilitating the two day non-criminal POVA investigation training course and, awareness raising within the local Health Board. The development of a student nurse placement in the social services POVA team cements the multiagency collaborative approach that this development sought to achieve. Originality/value – The need to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients.


2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Hindle ◽  
Adam Hindle ◽  
Martin Spollen

This project arose from deliberations within the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) in Northern Ireland concerning the acceptability of the revenue resource allocation methodology they were using. One problem with the method being used had been the absence of a component that adequately reflected the relative costs associated with the differential population densities of the four health boards into which the Province is divided. This study investigates a particular element of this issue, viz differences in the travelling distances and times of those health and social service professionals who provide visiting services to patients in their own homes. A modelling approach has been developed and used in conjunction with a comprehensive spatial and geographical information system for Northern Ireland. An important outcome of the study has been estimates of the targets that should be set for the annual health and social care travelling distances and times per head of population in the boards, for a range of home-based services. Also, the project has contributed to decisions made by the DHSS in Northern Ireland concerning the annual financial compensations required by boards for costs associated with their relative population densities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart Greenwell ◽  
Daniel Antebi

Purpose The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 provide a direction of travel for all public services in Wales and a framework for delivering the aspirations in the legislation. Although specifically referring to social care, both pieces of legislation are as relevant to the NHS as they are to other public bodies, providing an opportunity for NHS Wales and local government, in particular, to be equal partners in making a difference to the people and communities they serve. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A viewpoint paper. Findings In Wales the time is right to do things differently in health and social care, so the authors will reflect on why current services are struggling and propose an approach that is rooted in communities rather than in specialities. The authors suggest developing a centre of gravity in the community through a multi-agency collaboration to achieve the greatest health, social care and economic impact. Originality/value Attention needs to be directed to supporting people, communities and frontline workers to become more resilient, rather than our current focus on specialist services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Åsa Backlund ◽  
Tommy Lundström ◽  
Katarina Thorén

Residential care for unaccompanied minors. How can a growing and turbulent care market be understood?The number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Sweden has grown rapidly in recent years and the care of these children has become a significant part of the Swedish child welfare system. In this article, we discuss what has happened to the residential care market (known as HVB for short) in which most of these children are placed by the municipal social services. The specific questions we seek to illuminate are: Which type of residential care actors have expanded their operations? Have new actors entered the residential care market for unaccompanied minors? How can we understand changes in the residential care market in the current situation? The study is based upon the Health and Social Care Inspectorate’s registry of all licensed residential care units in Sweden. We compare data for all residential care units that targeted unaccompanied minors in 2014 with an updated register from March 2016. The residential care units are categorized based on organizational type (municipal, large and small private companies, municipal entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations) and the article illustrates the composition of organizational type. The results show that despite the growing need for residential care for unaccompanied minors, the composition of organizational type has not changed significantly since 2014. However, the number of beds for unaccompanied minors is higher than for traditional HVBs, and it has increased between 2014 and 2016. The study also indicates that the composition of residential care for unaccompanied minors differs from the residential care market for other groups of children and young people.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oli Preston ◽  
Rebecca Godar ◽  
Michelle Lefevre ◽  
Janet Boddy ◽  
Carlene Firmin

Purpose This paper aims to explore the possibilities in using such national, statutory data sets for evaluating change and the challenges of understanding service patterns and outcomes in complex cases when only a limited view can be gained using existing data. The discussion also explores how methodologies can adapt to an evaluation in these circumstances. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the use of data routinely collected by local authorities (LAs) as part of the evaluation of innovation. Issues entailed are discussed and illustrated through two case studies of evaluations conducted by the research team within the context of children’s social care in England. Findings The quantitative analysis of LA data can play an important role in evaluating innovation but researchers will need to address challenges related to: selection of a suitable methodology; identifying appropriate comparator data; accessing data and assessing its quality; and sustaining and increasing the value of analytic work beyond the end of the research. Examples are provided of how the two case studies experienced and addressed these challenges. Research limitations/implications • Quasi-experimental methods can be beneficial tools for understanding the impact of innovation in children’s services, but researchers should also consider the complexity of children’s social care and the use of mixed and appropriate methods. • Those funding innovative practice should consider the additional burden on those working with data and the related data infrastructure if wishing to document and analyse innovation in a robust way. • Data, which may be assumed to be uniform may in fact not be when considered at a multi-area or national level, and further study of the data recording practice of social care professionals is required. Originality/value The paper discusses some common issues experienced in quasi-experimental approaches to the quantitative evaluation of children’s services, which have, until recently, been rarely used in the sector. There are important considerations, which are of relevance to researchers, service leads in children’s social care, data and performance leads and funders of innovation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Merkel ◽  
Moritz Hess

BACKGROUND Digital health care is becoming increasingly important, but it has the risk of further increasing the digital divide, as not all individuals have the opportunity, skills, and knowledge to fully benefit from potential advantages. In particular, elderly people have less experience with the internet, and hence, they are in danger of being excluded. Knowledge on the influences of the adoption of internet-based health and care services by elderly people will help to develop and promote strategies for decreasing the digital divide. OBJECTIVE This study examined if and how elderly people are using digital services to access health and social care. Moreover, it examined what personal characteristics are associated with using these services and if there are country differences. METHODS Data for this study were obtained from the Special Eurobarometer 460 (SB 460), which collected data on Europeans’ handling of and attitudes toward digital technologies, robots, and artificial intelligence, including data on the use of internet-based health and social care services, among 27,901 EU citizens aged 15 years or older. Multilevel logistic regression models were adopted to analyze the association of using the internet for health and social care services with several individual and country-level variables. RESULTS At the individual level, young age, high education, high social class, and living in an urban area were positively associated with a high probability of using internet-based health and social services. At the country level, the proportion of elderly people who participated in any training activity within the last month was positively associated with the proportion of elderly people using these services. CONCLUSIONS The probability of using internet-based health and social services and their accompanying advantages strongly depend on the socioeconomic background. Training and educational programs might be helpful to mitigate these differences.


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