Status

The Older People programme of work undertaken by the National Datasets Service has included to date the areas of:

• SAP (single assessment process)
• falls
• stroke
• continence
• mental health - dementia and depression.

These datasets were created through the use of reference groups and undertook piloting during 2004/5 and are readily available for reference and research purposes from our download page.

Plans for submission of the datasets to Information Standards Board for approval have yet to be resolved.

A partnership between the National Datasets Service and another Information Centre team ASCID (Adult Social Care Information Development Programme) has seen the SAP dataset move in a new direction.

To understand that SAP is a process necessitates the dataset being used as core items that can be collected on any adult as they pass through the seamless boundaries of health and social care.

Both teams are combining their social care expertise and datasets knowledge to create a bespoke product for social care.

Clear and agreed data standards and definitions across social care are vital for information that has integrity.

They will ensure that all local authorities can collect information that is common and consistent, regardless of its source or the IT or other systems that contain it.

Background

The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People was published in March 2001 and outlines a ten year programme of action to ensure optimal care is provided for older people, linking services across primary, secondary, community and social care, as well as giving guidelines for key conditions.

The Information Strategy for Older People (ISOP) was published in March 2002. It builds on Information for Health and Information for Social Care to ensure that the implementation of both programmes support the Older People Programme.

In November 2004 Better Health in Old Age was published, reporting on progress in implementing the NSF. With a further update in April 2006; A New Ambition for Old Age: Next Steps in Implementing the National Service Framework for Older People.

The NSF for older people is a 'client' group rather than condition based. This, together with the ethos of integrated care provision crossing all organisational boundaries, means that the development of standards must be consistent, collaborative, and intuitive. It will also take full account of existing data standards and also those clinical datasets in development.

In the spirit of the NSF, dataset development has been patient centred and focussed around the whole of the patient journey.

Project Documentation

For further documentation related to this Project please click the following link.

Older People Document Downloads