By Joshua Rowe

Keeping patients out of hospital benefits everyone. Patients are less stressed and anxious because they can remain in a familiar environment with the assurance that their condition is being managed. The NHS benefits because beds, equipment and resources are freed up. Patients with chronic cardiac conditions traditionally make frequent visits to hospital, so cutting the frequency has a big impact. The author describes how hospital visits are being cut by the use of telemedicine which provides ECG and weight scale readings from home.

Read more on TELE MEDICINE SUPPORT KEEPS PATIENTS AWAY FROM HOSPITALS…

An efficient human resource system is crucial for any organisation, because staff depend on it. Paper based HR systems have survived for many years, but they are prone to error and costly to operate. Introducing partial technology creates risks with re-keying data. Epsom and Ewell council followed this path from total paper to partial technology, but then decided they should move to a fully integrated HR system. This article describes how they did it, in partnership with a nearby council, the results achieved and where they are going now.

Read more on PARTNERSHIP WORKING DELIVERS BACKOFFICE SUCCESS…

By Graham Baker

Bureaucracy and form filling are characteristics of public services. Police forces are no exception and beat officers have been spending almost half their time at the police station. The problem is being tackled vigorously and officers now spend much more time on the beat and less at the station. Mobile technology has played a part in this transformation. The author describes how BlackBerry smartphones are being used by many forces to reduce paperwork and cut the duplication of effort by giving officers out on the beat the opportunity to access information and report activities.

Read more on INCREASING POLICE EFFICIENCY WITH MOBILE TECHNOLOGY…

By Steve Cross

Managing the financial processes in adult social care is a complex task. Paper based records are labour intensive and inefficient with suppliers waiting long periods for payment. The situation is compounded by unreliable data making financial monitoring and planning extremely difficult. This was how it was in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The author describes how the situation was transformed by integrating the care process with the financial practice processes. The result was benefits to clients, suppliers and to the council.

Read more on GETTING CONTROL OF FINANCES IN ADULT SOCIAL CARE…

By Edward Moss

The end of the official retirement age has resulted in many people choosing to carry on working. But there are organisations that continue to insist that people retire at a particular age. There needs to be a greater awareness that the world is changing, people are living longer and there is a greater willingness to continue working. The author describes the benefits that a flexible approach to retirement brings to both employer and employee and gives practical examples of how it works.

Read more on FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT- COUNCILS LEAD THE WAY…

By Marian Barnes, Chris Skelcher, Hanne Beirens, Robert Dalziel, Stephen Jeffares and Lynne Wilson

The challenge for governing communities is about creating organizations to deliver public services while promoting the values of local democracy. Citizen participation and partnership working have become key issues. The authors looked at the different approaches to citizen centred governance. They also look to the future with greater citizen participation, more transparency of decision-making and a commitment to experimentation.

Read more on DESIGNING CITIZEN-CENTRED GOVERNANCE…

By Deidre Wild and Sara Nelson with Ala Szczepura.

Hospitals and care homes are in different organizational structures, but they serve the same people. A change in the condition of their clients frequently means moving from one organization to another and probably back again. This can be organizationally convenient, but stressful for those who have to move. It is also costly. The authors describe a joint NHS-local authority initiative that allowed care home residents to receive nursing and physiotherapy support in the home. They highlight the benefits that partnership working brought to all concerned.

Read more on PROVIDING NURSING SUPPORT WITHIN CARE HOMES…

By Colin Forrest

Motorist can no longer be sure that they have evaded a parking fine when they drive away without a ticket on the windscreen. The ticket may arrive by post. Changes to parking regulations allow evidence from CCTV cameras to be accepted, without any human intervention. The effect of this change is that councils have to operate a parallel enforcement process that gets the ticket to the motorist. The author looks at the problems this causes.

Read more on ANOTHER FINE MESS?…

By Alison Ballantyne

Bullying in school has been around for a long time, but the Government, councils, school management and teachers are working together to tackle the problem with a zero tolerance approach. The strategy being pursued by the London borough of Bexley was to create an anti-bullying team to give support and advice to victims and to provide an online database to present a real time picture of what is happening. The author describes how the two elements of the strategy were brought together.

Read more on LOGGING ON TO BEAT THE BULLIES…

By Dominic Swift

Public bodies that have adopted shared services have made substantial gains in efficiency. This success has reinforced the drive from the Treasury for greater efficiency savings from sharing. So if this is a way to cut costs why are organisations slow to get involved? The answers appear to be a lack of resources, workforce opposition and risk-averse organisational cultures. The author suggests a way forward tap into the many opportunities for taking forward the shared services agenda.

Read more on SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE…