Service characteristic

Services not integrated

Moving towards integration

Partially integrated

Fully integrated service

User involvement

May or may not involve users in satisfaction surveys, etc.

Involves users in satisfaction surveys, etc.

Involving users in service design and planning

Involves users in satisfaction surveys and service monitoring, review and identification of improvements

Monitoring user outcomes

No process of follow-up assessment

May or may not have process of follow-up assessment

May or may not have process of follow-up assessment

Full assessment and re-assessment based on user’s lifestyle / independence choices. Role played by equipment in supporting this is identified.

Finance

Separate health and social services budgets with strict boundaries

Organisations share management information about budgets

Exploring ways of sharing or pooling funding

Pooled budgets

Management Structure

Separate managers

Lead organisation identified

Lead organisation managing managers

Sole manager responsible for service operations

Manager’s advisory board

None

None

None

Multi-agency advisory board in place

Stock, and purchasing

Separate equipment storage and purchasing

Local agreements about ‘who provides what’

Joint or ‘virtual joint’ stores and joint stock inventories

Unified stock inventory and person-based stock control/purchasing system. Purchasing advisory panel. Can demonstrate achievement of best value.

Continuous service improvement

May or may not have

May or may not have

May or may not have

Quality improvement system in operation

Equipment tracking, delivery and collection

Separate services and processes

May still be separate

Tracking based on joint inventory

Fully computerised, using micro-chipping or other coding to help stock control. Delivery systems achieving high standards.

Adverse incident reporting

Should have

Should have

Should have

Has as part of quality/ service improvement system