This tool is an example of how local services may be reviewed at the initial stage of a project to help inform any local prioritisation of service development work.
The basis is to compare the ethnic groupings, or "profile", of a service's "catchment" population, against which the profile of the people who are accessing local services can be measurably compared. However, rather than simply reviewing the profiles of people who are already using services, this tool can be used for a more detailed approach that requires little effort. It can be used to look at the pathways through which people are coming in contact with services.
Given that the general population do not "spontaneously" begin to use services, then reviewing the pathways can help to identify areas that may contribute to any disproportionate representation, or under-representation, of certain groups of people as service users.
These areas may not necessarily be confined to a specific team or clinic, but may show the way in which a service operates as a part of its wider community.
These areas can then be prioritised within a service development plan to address the relationship between a service and its local community, rather than just the "internal" elements of a service.
