CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE PROJECT

CREATING EFFICIENCIES

and

PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR ADULT SOCIAL CARE TEAM

TASKS UNDERTAKEN DURING THE COURSE OF THE PROJECT

Data gathering to understand the operation and business of adult social care in CSC

Data analysis to determine volume, actions and outcomes of operations

Process analysis and process adjustment to create capacity Assistance with recruitment and induction process to assist with

staff development and retention Professional support on site to improve quality control Benchmarking with other authorities Promotion of improved relationships with other directorate

teams

FINDINGS The CSC adults social care team have dealt with 12,558 calls

over a period of 3 months (see pie chart on next slide) 173 of these calls received a direct service from CSC (home

care variation and equipment repair/replace) 4,004 of these calls resulted in referrals to fieldwork teams for

assessment A proportion of work (mainly letters and faxes from Health and

other organisations) by-passes CSC and comes into area offices – approx 250 items per month

The area teams manage a daily duty system in parallel with CSC, with at least 16 full time officers across the county to deal with progress chasing, urgent interventions and work by-passing the CSC

WORK UNDERWAY TO CREATE CAPACITY AND IMPROVE QUALITY WITHIN CSC

Some of the audit processes within CSC are self imposed and unnecessary. These are gradually being eliminated in favour of electronic systems

AIS processes are slow and cumbersome to use. This is due to a combination of factors to do with screen content and technical difficulties. Further work is being done through the ESCR team and operational managers

CSC managers are working to improve the quality of information through closer relationships with fieldwork managers

Work has been done to improve the recruitment and induction process to better respond to the needs of the ASC service

WORK UNDERWAY TO CREATE CAPACITY AND IMPROVE QUALITY WITHIN CSC

Benchmarking with other authorities is confirming the way forward and is informing the development of an enhanced CSC to support the personalisation agenda

Promotion of improved relationships with other directorate teams is ongoing through staff induction, presentations, meetings and training in order to support the new model of working

WHAT CAN WE DO TO GENERATE MORE EFFICIENCIES AND IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER

EXPERIENCE? Evidence suggests these tasks could be completed at CSC

with additional skill levels, training and protocols:

Referrals to Telecare directly from CSC SmartCare clinics appointment system through CSC

Re-route letters/faxes from area offices to CSC Introduction to Financial assessment

Assistance with self assessment facilities as developed Minor equipment provision (Preventative agenda)

Scheduled telephone reviews

HOW WILL THIS SAVE MONEY? Area offices currently deal with the processing (re-routing) of 100 Telecare

referrals per month. Each of these takes 45 mins to process and make a referral

Area offices currently deal with the processing of 220 Smartcare referrals per month. Each of these takes 45 mins to process and make a referral

Area offices around the county currently deal with the processing of 250 letters and faxes from other organisations by-passing CSC

Some users receive chargeable services free through delays in process, misinformation or misunderstandings. Making a statement through the advisors would potentially allow the directorate to make estimated charges at an earlier stage

More money could potentially be saved by the introduction of early benefits advice via helpline.

HOW WILL THIS SAVE MONEY?

Providing people with a self assessment facility on line and assistance would drive forward the Preventative Agenda, whilst saving time wasted by FW teams assessing those who could and would have helped themselves with appropriate information

Minor equipment provision could assist with prevention of falls and risk management to delay entry into ASC system

Scheduled telephone reviews could be done consistently by CSC and relieve the area teams from prioritising urgent work alongside duties such as this – referrals generated from reviews could be dealt with immediately rather than going through Area Office and back to CSC

WHAT CAN WE DO TO GENERATE MORE EFFICIENCIES AND IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER

EXPERIENCE?

The creation of a professional team within ASC would provide further efficiencies by generating capacity to:

Manage a central day time duty and emergency response system Select, plan and refer for re-ablement Encompass the SmartCare clinics Deal with routine hospital discharges Manage a professionals’ helpline Provide closer links with specialist teams such as safeguarding,

brokerage, carers team, FAB team, etc Manage unscheduled reviews until support planning becomes

mainstream

Fundamental Principles of New Model

Redesigned ASC pages on LCC website to eliminate a proportion of Avoidable Contacts

Triage system (automated or manual) to either signpost callers or allocate calls to appropriate group of CSC staff

Group of less experienced Advisors to handle Simple Interventions (detailed in light blue section)

Group of more experienced Advisors to handle Specialist Interventions (detailed in dark blue section)

Group of ASC ‘Professionals’ to provide County-wide Duty Desk and other work currently handled at Area Offices (detailed in red section)

EnablementApproach

ServiceUser

Relative,etc

Professional

Give

Information

Service Pledge

Pass ToArea Office

Single Episode

Simple Intervention Sp

ecial

ist In

terv

ention

Improved InformationWebsite

Progress Chasingetc

Gather initial

information

First Contact

Information/AdviceBookings

FinancialRepair/Replace

(Bereavement Journey)

Telecare AssessmentAssi

st with

Self A

ssess:

- Sm

art Assi

st

- Teleca

re

- Blue Bad

ge

Expert Advice

and guidance

(Mental Health

Interface)

Call Back

(Multiple Episode)

Minor AdjustmentsSmartCare Clinic Bookings

Callback to Letter/Fax/Email Request fromArea Office

Arrange Short-term

Packages

Preventative Equipment

(grab rail, key safe, etc)

Financial Assessments

(Indicative RAS)

Scheduled

Phone Reviews

County-wideDuty

SmartCareClinics

Short-termPackages

RoutineHospital Discharge

ProfessionalHelpline

Selectand Plan

Re-ablement

EmergencyCarer’sService

UnscheduledReviews

Improved InformationWebsite

- Improved Signposting -

WHAT WOULD WE NEED TO DO THIS?

Professional ‘arm’ to CSC team using existing resources

Service Level Agreement to support a different way of working within CSC, Adult Social Care Team

Agreed triage facility through telephone system or through staff filtering system

Useable secure CSC dedicated email box Dedicated professionals’ telephone line Agreed facility to allow ‘call backs’ by experts

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Putting People First Board should approve:

The early introduction of proposed additional tasks to the Adult Social Care team within CSC

The adoption of the proposed model The creation of a service level agreement with CSC to support

the development of the new model The release and reconfiguration of resources to develop and

manage the new specialist team model