Service Specifications (Models of Care)

During 2009, Kevin Heffernan and Mark Rayne of WMRDC led work to draft and develop a set of Service Specifications.

Background

A request from the West Midlands Mental Health commissioning group to work with 2 focus areas (Birmingham and Coventry/Warwickshire) to review their current service specifications with the aim of developing a prioritised suite of specifications to be transferable across the West Midlands commissioning group.

Download the Service Specification Documents >>

The expected benefits

  •  A deeper understanding of commissioned services
  • Services that are more aligned to best practice/ evidence bases
  • The development of activity, outputs / outcomes templates to ensure more effective monitoring of implementation
  • The improvement of the dialogue during the contracting / negotiation process
  • Meaningful participation of users and carers in review, improvement and outcome development

Project scope

  1. Work alongside MH Commissioners in Birmingham, and Coventry & Warwickshire to review current specifications and agree methodology for developing evidence-based specifications to meet the requirements of the NHS Contract.
    (First report to MH Commissioners Group 26th July, and final report 21st October 2009)
  2. To develop an online library of resources of service specifications that emerge from 1. above.
  3. CD-rom of specifications to be made available for Commissioners to access by 21st October 2009.
  4. A workshop for commissioners on the 1st of December. The intention of the day was to provide an opportunity to explore and clarify any aspects or issues within the suite of service specifications presented. It also allowed individual review of the specifications enabling any refinement or fine tuning of any aspects deemed necessary
  5. Deliver Minimum Data Set of outcome measures for each model included in the prioritised list of Service Specifications by 21st October 2009
  6. Scope with the regional commissioners group a programme of support to increase user and carer engagement by January 2010. (Link to the 3 day support programme)


The following principles from the document Guidance on the Standard NHS Contract for Mental Health and Learning Disability Services For the NHS in England 2009/10 were utilised for the project:

The specifications to;

  • Be developed cooperatively between Commissioners and Providers, involving Service Users and Carers as appropriate.
  • Be developed for use across Commissioners, so that a service has only one Service Specification and not multiple ones.
  • Describe care and treatment models that are evidence-based whenever possible and the models of care to be adhered to should be referenced e.g. Department of Health fidelity statements, NICE guidelines etc.
  • Utilise care pathway approaches to services specified wherever possible.
  • Inform service descriptions for Service Users and Carers to help them understand the service/s that they can expect within the context of their rights and responsibilities.

To Download any of the Model Service Specifications, click on the relevant name in the list below:-