Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-07T11:03:10.065Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

ten - Reflections on an evaluation of partnerships to cope with winter pressures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2022

Get access

Summary

Introduction

This chapter reflects on an evaluation of partnership working between health and social care services in West Sussex. In evaluating projects to combat ‘winter pressures’, it outlines the mapping of the main relationships between stakeholders, findings from a questionnaire sent to senior, middle management and frontline staff and an analysis of evaluation forms. It shows how national policy drove the projects and how local politics contributed to as well as impeded their success.

Winter pressures are governmentally recognised special problems experienced in winter by both health and social services as a result of a higher incidence of illness, especially among older people, and a consequent increase in emergency admissions. Special funding to meet these pressures was introduced in 1997 for local health and social care communities through Local Winter Planning Groups (LWPGs).

The LWPG provided a prime example of partnership working. Its broad representation included the relevant Health Authority, Social Services Departments, Trusts (acute, mental health, community, learning disability and ambulance services), Primary Care Trusts and Groups, Local Representative Committees, Out of Hours’ Cooperatives, Deputising Services, NHS Direct, Community Health Councils (CHCs)/Patient/Public representatives and members of the voluntary and private sectors involved in health and social care.

National criteria for local winter planning required each health and social care community to submit a single local winter plan to its health and social care region at the end of the July of that year for agreement by the end of September (DH, 2000). In 2000 national criteria focused on flu immunisation, hospital services (critical care and acute services), community and mental health services, ambulance services, intermediate care, social care and primary care. Further issues covered included contingency plans for escalation/control procedures, human resources and communications.

Six broad areas of action being taken to prepare for winter, as set out in the ‘Winter Plan’

  • • Promoting self-care and preventing ill health;

  • • investment in capacity and change;

  • • service improvement and design;

  • • staffing;

  • • better preparations and strengthened partnerships; and

  • • managing the winter.

The Winter Report 2000-01 found many examples of good progress, as well as areas still requiring considerable attention. Its recommendations, however, signalled a greater focus on year round capacity planning as the key to improved services:

Local planning for winter should explicitly include preparations to manage elective as well as emergency demand. LWPGs should operate all year round. (DH, 2001a, para 58)

Type
Chapter
Information
The Politics of Evaluation
Participation and Policy Implementation
, pp. 153 - 174
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×