Background

People with complex and severe needs constitute a relatively small proportion of all adult social care users. However, they are growing in number, and meeting their needs can be problematic for service commissioners and providers. In particular, they often need personalised, co-ordinated and specialised services from a wide range of providers, which can be difficult and costly to deliver.

Aims

This scoping study identified:

• key features of the service and support arrangements desired by different groups of disabled adults and older people with severe and complex needs
• evidence of initiatives to deliver support to disabled people with complex and severe needs that have the desired features and the potential to constitute examples of ‘good practice’. Examples included the different levels of commissioning, operational organisation and front-line delivery.

Methods

The study involved:

• consultation with key stakeholders, including organizations of and for service users and carers, on the desired features of good support and service arrangements
• a review of recent published and grey research on relevant service developments and initiatives
• case studies of ten examples of good practice in service provision or commissioning, identified through the above two stages.

These detailed descriptions provide an invaluable starting point for the future evaluation of service models.

Policy and practice aims

The study aimed to generate evidence to inform social care practice in commissioning and providing support to people with complex and severe needs, in accordance with those service features that are highly valued by users and carers themselves. There was a particular focus on the role of social care in co-ordinating or collaborating with other providers over the commissioning, organisation and delivery of services; and on identifying examples of good practice that have the potential to be transferrable to other similar groups of service users. Summaries of the study findings were disseminated widely to all English adult social care departments, NHS primary care trusts and relevant voluntary sector organisations. The results of the study were also disseminated through NIHR School for Social Care Research knowledge transfer activities.

Research findings

This project is now complete and publications from it are available below, along with details of presentations made by the team.

Ten case studies of examples of potential good practice, identified through the consultation process in the project, are also now available for you to download.

Publications and presentations

2012

Good social care for people with complex needs - a scoping study
Brooks, J., Getting It Right When It's Complex - Good Social Care for People with Severe and Complex Needs, Making Research Count Conference, Keele University, Keele, 24 October 2012. PDF of presentation Good social care for people with complex needs. A scoping study (consultation)
Brooks, J., Getting It Right When It's Complex: Good Social Care for People with Severe and Complex Needs, Making Research Count Conference, University of York, York, 11 July 2012. PDF of presentation It's like having a friend around, 2012
Brooks, J. in M. Davies (ed.) Social Work with Adults: Policy, law, theory, research and practice, Palgrave Macmillan. School for Social Care Research programme update
Glendinning, C., Getting It Right When It's Complex: Good Social Care for People with Severe and Complex Needs, Making Research Count Conference, University of York, York, 11 July 2012. A good arrangement - now under threat, 2012
Gridley, K. in M. Davies Social Work with Adults: Policy, law, theory, research and practice, Palgrave Macmillan. Getting it right when it's complex: research findings from a scoping study of good support for people with complex needs
Gridley, K., Getting It Right When It's Complex - Good Social Care for People with Severe and Complex Needs, Making Research Count Conference, Keele University, Keele, 24 October 2012. PDF of presentation Good social care for people with complex needs. A scoping study (review)
Gridley, K., Getting It Right When It's Complex: Good Social Care for People with Severe and Complex Needs, Making Research Count Conference, University of York, York, 11 July 2012. PDF of presentation Good support for people with complex needs: What does it look like and where is the evidence?, 2012
Gridley, K., Brooks, J. and Glendinning, C., Research findings, NIHR School for Social Care Research. 2011

Personalisation in research and practice: methods and early findings from a study into good practice in social care for people with complex and severe needs
Glendinning, C., Brooks, J. and Gridley, K., NIHR School for Social Care Research Annual Conference, London School of Economics, London, 18 April 2011. Key features of good practice in social care for people with severe and complex needs
Gridley, K., Brooks, J. and Glendinning, C., Care and Support for People with Complex and Severe Needs: Innovations and Practice. A Scoping Study. Feedback Workshop, Alcuin Research Resource Centre, University of York, York, 24 November 2011. 2010

Services and support for adults and older people with complex and severe needs: a scoping study
Glendinning, C., Social Services Research Group Annual Conference, Manchester, 9 March 2010. Good practice for people with complex and severe needs: a scoping study
Gridley, K. and Brooks, J., Personalisation in Practice: New Horizons in Adult Social Care Research, Making Research Count Research Conference, York, 26 November 2010. Questions of care, 2010
Knapp, M. and Glendinning, C., Public Service Review: Health and Social Care, 25, p.18.

If you require further information about the project, please contact Kate Gridley