Yesterday the National Audit Office published their findings of a review of personalised commissioning in adult social care.
The report draws on the work of In Control and in particular the data we were able to provide from our POET survey, saying: '…the [POET] survey provides the most detailed information about respondents' experiences of authorities personalised commissioning processes.'
Launching the report, the NAO said:
'The NAO believes there is a strong case for better use of existing surveys and evidence gathering, so the Department and its national partners understand the relationship between the different ways to commission personalised services for users, and improvements in user outcomes.'
And importantly, the report concludes:
'Centrally collected data on local authorities' progress might be overstating how personalised the commissioning of care really is for some users. There is therefore a strong case for better use of existing surveys and evidence gathering.'
In Control continues to invest in understanding and improving the outcomes and relaying the voice of people in receipt of health and social care. We have now:
- Simplified and updated the POET question set to ensure it measures more explicitly the extent to which local authorities are meeting the requirements of the Care Act / Children and Families Act and within NHS duties and mandates.
- Collected the experience of some 3,000 personal budget holders whose experiences will be described in our next National Personal Budget Survey.
- We have been working with 10 local authorities who have committed to embed POET questions into their local IT systems and capture outcomes and experiences routinely.
POET is free to use for In Control members. If you are not yet a member of In Control, options are still available to use POET so contact us at poet@in-control.org.uk to gain further information, including a copy of the latest POET questions and an example report showing how they can help you demonstrate the outcomes you are achieving and the progress you have made.
You can also listen to an interview with John Glasby on Money Box Live discussing personal budgets here.
