WIREDGOV

Innovation in delivery is essential for the long term sustainability of the social care system. Northgate Public Services today launches an online self-service support solution which gives the citizen greater control and promotes enablement and early intervention in adult social care.

Supporting a pro-active and preventative model of personalised social care centred on improved wellbeing, with greater choice and control for individuals, My Support helps citizens to shape their own lives and the services that they receive. It helps people access care and support through a number of features including:

• My Assessment – a self assessment tool that allows citizens to directly and simply express their needs and requirements.

• My Money – an on-line view of the money that the person has in their personal budget, it shows a statement summary including the amounts, payee, date and description of service.

• My Schedule – the citizen is able to see what visits they are getting, who is seeing them, and at what time

• My Plan –this provides guidance and structure for individuals and their support networks by putting together a personalised support plan. The plans can be amended by the individual. Supporting documents including video clips and images can be stored against the plan.

• My People - this gives the citizen their key contacts in a simple address book.

• My Details – this enables the citizen to manage their basic personal details

• My Views –this gives the citizen the ability to provide feedback on their support plan such as the services that they receive and the outcomes of different forms of support

• My Docs – an on-line repository of documents relating to an individual and their support. It can include support plans, care plans, letters from the GP, copies of correspondence and evidence including photographs

• My Shopping –a catalogue that contains the details of goods and services. It has a simple built in inventory and comes with a portal for providers to upload their own products and for citizens to purchase online.

Whilst online self service will not be appropriate for all citizens, Northgate Public Services believes that for many it will provide a means of increasing citizen satisfaction with their social care support. Citizens will benefit from 24x7 access to information and services from the comfort of home at a time that suits them, The company is now mounting a campaign for local authorities to introduce self service in adult social care as a means of improving delivery and making efficiencies through the reduction in visits and paperwork.

Russell Osborne, Managing Director, Citizen Solutions, Northgate Public Services, said today: “Many citizens want to be active participants in the care and support they receive. They do not want to be recipients of standardised packages and they want to be at the centre of identifying what is personally important to them to deliver effective and efficient outcomes.

“Our self service solution places the dignity and respect that people have a right to expect at its heart. At a time of unprecedented pressure on our health and social care system, there is a need to introduce change now. Over the next few months we will be working with our partner authorities to deliver self service as an essential element of radical change that our social care system so desperately needs.”


For more information
Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton +44 (0)20 7395 1516; +44 (0)7966 890401
Konstantinos Makrygiannis +44 (0)20 7395 1518; +44 (0)7949 421356



Notes to Editors

1. Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

2. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships.

3. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies. Founded in 1969, the company has nearly 8,000 employees. Northgate’s social care solutions are used by 40 per cent of local authorities.