Getting Ready for LINks

1
Getting Ready for LINks

• Stephanie Varah
• LINks Early Adopter Project Manager

2
Rationale for LINks

• Changing health social care landscape
• Reconfiguration of PCTs
• Focus on commissioning
• More choice of providers service delivery
• Social Care
• More choice, control personalisation
• Integration-health social care
• Shift to community based care
• A Stronger Local Voice July 2006-new framework
  for PPI

3
Role of LINks

• Promote support the involvement of people in
  the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of
  local care services
• Obtain the views of people about their needs for,
  and their experiences of, local care services
• Enable people to monitor and review the
  commissioning and provision of care services
• Convey peoples views to organisations
  responsible for commissioning, providing,
  managing scrutinising local care services
  recommend how services can be improved

4
What are LINks?
Carers Network
Neighbourhood renewal network
Youth Council
Local Strategic Partnership
Individuals
Harder to reach groups/communities of interest
Individuals
Foundation Trust Governors
Patients Transport Groups
LINk
Tenants Groups
Older Peoples Forum
Individuals
Minority Ethnic Groups
Individuals
Support Groups for Specific Service Users
Faith Groups
Patient Groups
5
LINks will

• Cover all aspects of health and social care not
  just one institution
• Look at the whole patient/user journey
• Flexible participation- reflecting nature
  diversity of local community
• Inclusive accessible
• No formal membership requirement
• Local people can dip in dip out
• Build on existing networks community activity

6
Legislation

• Local Government Public Involvement in Health
  Bill Royal Assent
• Duty upon Local Authorities (with social services
  responsibilities) to make contractual
  arrangements with a host organisation to support
  the LINk
• Transitional arrangements (six month period)
• LAs to ensure there is a means by which LINk
  activities can be carried out if no formal
  arrangements in place e.g sub committee of OSC
• Governance arrangements guidance
• Conduct, conflicts of interest, accountability
  etc
• Clarity on rights to visit etc

7
Powers of LINks

• LINks will have specific powers to enable them to
  influence the improvement of local services
• enter specified types of premises and view the
  services provided
• request information and receive a response within
  a specified timescale
• make reports and recommendations and receive a
  response within a specified timescale
• refer matters to an Overview and Scrutiny
  Committee (OSC) and receive a response.

8
How will LINks be set up?

• Local Authorities (with social services
  responsibilities) will receive a targeted grant
  from the Department of Health
• Each Local Authority will procure a host
  organisation -10k start up grant to LAs
• The host will be responsible for the
  establishment, maintenance and support of a LINk
• The LINk will operate independently of the Local
  Authority, within its own governance structure
  and decision making processes
• The host will be accountable to the LINk

9
How LINks will work..

• Gather evidence
• Local needs experiences
• Existing sources user/focus groups
• Analyse information
• Identify/pass on trends
• make recommendations to commissioners, providers,
  managers, OSCs regulators
• Encourage support users to participate
• Input to development of PCT prospectus

10
Information from LINks will

• Inform health social care commissioner decision
  making support contract management role
• Give providers ongoing feedback
• Help managers know if purchased provided
  services meet local need
• Allow OSCs to base reviews on actual feedback
• Help regulators access local information on needs
  experiences
• Support LSPs in LAA process

11
Role of Hosts

• DH Publication Getting Ready for LINks
  Contracting a host organisation
• Basic requirements for hosts
• Criteria for tender advertisements
• Possible process for establishing supporting a
  LINk
• Principal role - Enable, support facilitate the
  LINk in its activities - LINk decides work plan
• Host accountable to Local Authority LINk
  participants

12
Getting Ready whats happening..?

• LAs 10K start up grant from DH (nominated LA
  LINk Leads)
• Working with local people to design LINk, local
  tender specification involvement in procurement
  process
• LA funding allocated
• Tender adverts host procurement
• Getting Ready for LINks activities
• Working groups
• Stakeholder/community maps profiling
• Engagement communication plans
• Host in place by end of March/transitional plans

13
Getting Ready Progress

• Local Authorities are
• Booking placements with Centre for Public
  Scrutiny Advisers
• Gathering intelligence from stakeholders
• Organising getting ready events to obtain local
  feedback on priorities for LINk development
• Convening multi-agency getting ready LINk
  working groups
• Identifying a LINk Lead publicising their
  role/contact
• Developing a local implementation plan
• Building upon existing work with local community
• Contacting similar councils to develop model
  contracts

14
Getting Ready for LINks - Support

• DH Publications
• Planning your Local Involvement Network
• Contracting a host organisation for your Local
  Involvement Network
• LINks Explained Easy-Read Summary
• LINks Bulletin
• LINks Communications Toolkit
• www.dh.gov.uk/patientpublicinvolvement
• Early Adopter Project products www.nhscentreforinv
  olvement.nhs.uk
• DH Implementation Plan (support from stakeholder
  organisations)
• Centre for Public Scrutiny Advisers

15
LINks Early Adopter Projects

• Project Aim
• To provide information, advice guidance to
  LINks organisations responsible for
  establishing, supporting working alongside them
  on how to maximise the effectiveness of LINks
  relationships with them.

16
Early Adopter Project Learning

• Engaging with key stakeholders who will move
  things forward is critical
• Creativity is needed to ensure engagement is
  inclusive appropriate to local population is
  targeted at individuals as well as groups
• Build on existing activity, networks
  relationships
• LINks will NOT replace existing structures but
  must add value
• Ensure that people already involved in PPI
  activity are encouraged to get involved

17
Early Adopter Project Learning

• Ensure focus on social care as well as health
• Importance of local demographics geography in
  shaping the LINk informing engagement
• Importance of developing a community profile
• Need to develop shared understanding of purpose,
  objectives, expectations milestones with
  stakeholders
• Ensure all stakeholders share ownership of the
  project

18
Stephanie VarahEarly Adopter Project
ManagerIndependent Consultant

• t 01909 540678
• m 07774 295691
• e stephanie_at_varah.plus.com