Abstract
Financial challenges in adult social care services are a considerable concern for UK government. With an ageing population, UK local authorities were reported to have spent £168 million more than budgeted in 2015–16 and had struggled to maintain care quality and manage unprecedented demand. We report on the assessment process employed in adult social care in Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city, and use data-analytic methods to examine the flow and continuity of data from referral, through the assessment process, to the resulting service provision. We identify the decision-making points and the data recorded for service users throughout the workflow. Data are derived from the local government social care system in Birmingham and span 2013–16. Findings highlight the complexity of the social care system, the fragmentation of the data and the discontinuity of data flow within the system. This data analysis resulted from a two-year study commissioned by Birmingham City Council as part of the ‘case for change’ following several poor Ofsted reports. Our commission was to understand what could be ascertained from a data-led investigation, independently of how the data were collected and used. This research establishes the foundation for service improvement and potential resource savings.
Highlights
The social care assessment process captures an important interaction between local government and individuals
To understand the assessment processes, we study the data flow as it is captured for a client from the initial request for social care support to the council
We explore other possible datasets that could potentially help explain the source of individuals: (i) data from other sub-processes such as Hospital Referral (HR), Initial Assessment (IA) and RE named as HIR; (ii) data from the ENB stage; and (iii) data from excluded lists
Summary
The social care assessment process captures an important interaction between local government and individuals. Changes to social care services, resulting from minor or major care-planning reviews, should be seamless from the point of view of the care-recipient (Walker and Beckett, 2003) This creates significant challenges for local government because needs and outcomes must be serviced equitably, regardless of the fact that the mechanism for meeting needs will differ, depending on local circumstances and individual preferences (Abendstern et al, 2011). Local authorities have had to consider cost reduction and process efficiency, whilst conserving the quality of services (Audit Commission, 2011); improving outcomes and supporting independence may result in better value for money.
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