• Care At Home
• Commissioning
• Delayed Discharge
• Equipment and Adaptations
• Governance and Management
• Housing
• Integrated Transport with Care
• Intermediate Care
• Managed Care Networks
• Performance Improvement
• Reshaping Care for Older People
• Rural and Remote
• Talking Points: User and Carer Involvement
  • Background
  • Staff Development and Leadership Materials
  • Communication Skills
  • Outcomes, Enablement and an Assets Approach to Health and Wellbeing
  • Risk, Outcomes and Safeguarding
  • Sample Tools
  • Service Users and Carers
  • Organisational Development
  • Using Outcomes Data
  • Digital Stories
  • Evidence, Learning and the Community of Practice
• Telecare in Scotland

Talking Points: A Personal Outcomes Approach

A key JIT priority has been to combine user and carer involvement with an outcomes approach to planning, delivering, evaluating and improving services. Since 2006, two researchers, Ailsa Cook and Emma Miller, have been working with the JIT to deliver on this priority. Ailsa and Emma had previously undertaken research on outcomes and partnership working at the University of Glasgow. Since 2006 collaboration has continued between research, practice and policy to develop and implement this approach to outcomes based working.

An outcomes approach to assessment, planning & review aims to shift engagement with people who use services away from service-led approaches. This involves everyone working together to achieve the best possible impact on the individual's life. The philosophy of this approach is one that emphasises the strengths, capacity and resilience of individuals, builds upon natural support systems and includes consideration of wider community based resources. The approach is consistent with policy priorities to engage people using services, personalisation and enablement and an assets approach to health.

The development of the approach has involved developing a range of tools, guidance and resources to:

• Encourage a focus on outcomes at assessment, care planning and review.
  
• Place the person at the centre of a more personalised approach.
  
• Support staff to conduct outcomes focused conversations, including with people with communication support needs.
  
• Enable information on service user and carer outcomes to be systematically gathered during assessment and review processes.
  
• Support organisations to use this information to improve outcomes at individual, service and organisational levels to plan, evaluate and improve services.

Full information on Talking Points (previously UDSET) including all materials is available from this section of the JIT website. Follow the links below to access the following information resources.

• Background from initial research, to piloting and development of Talking Points.
  
• Staff Development and Leadership Material developed to help with Talking Points implementation.
  
• Communication Skills includes guidance to support outcomes focused conversations as well as specific information on working with people with communication support needs.
  
• Outcomes, Enablement and an Assets Approach to Health and Wellbeing details the work already underway to change the culture of service provision.
  
• Risk, Outcomes and Safeguarding includes materials on risk enablement and risk management from an outcomes perspective.
  
• Sample Tools for assessment, care/support planning and review, as well as evaluation.
  
• Information for Service Users and Carers explaining what Talking Points is and PowerPoints which can be used in workshops with users and carers.
  
• Organisational Development includes a guide to the various changes required to become outcomes focused, and information from provider organisations
  
• Using Outcomes Data includes support materials for information management and examples of how information is being used.
  
• Digital Stories are very useful for staff development sessions and to illustrate what it means to focus on outcomes.
  
• Evidence, Learning and Community of Practice.

If you would like more information about our user and carer involvement project please Contact Us.

You can also join our Community of Practice to keep up to date on developments and events etc. See here for further information.

Important Resources

JIT Dissertation Prize Winner
The JIT has worked closely with the MSc in Integrated Service Improvement at the University of Edinburgh and has awarded its inaugural Joint Improvement Team Prize for Best Dissertation to Claire Dobson. Her dissertation explored the outcomes of intermediate care services for older people and a summary is below.

Claire Dobson Dissertation Summary [69Kb]

Talking Points in Care Homes Report
Report on a pilot programme in the Scottish Borders examining the effectiveness of the Talking Points approach in a Care Home setting.

Borders Care Home Report [359Kb]

Recording Outcomes in Care and Support
Recording outcomes has emerged as a practice issue in recent months. The attached guidance highlights some of the challenges involved and includes some basic introductory examples. The plan is to produce more complex examples in 2012.

Recording Outcomes in Care and Support [548Kb]

Leadership for Outcomes Guides
IRISS have produced follow-on guides on their 'Leadership for Outcomes' guide. There is now a guide on outcomes and parental substance misuse.

Leading for Outcomes - Parental Substance Misuse [1Mb]
There is also a new guide on outcomes and dementia.

Leading for Outcomes - Dementia [1Mb]