A Strategic Direction for Adult Social Care Information

The NHS Information Centre has set out proposals to streamline adult social care information, and on the best ways to take it forward in the short and medium term.

We have been consulting extensively with local authorities and other stakeholders on what information we should provide in future and how that information should be managed.

The report, A Strategic Direction for Adult Social Care Information, reveals that the key issues are to:

  • Follow-up our review of adult social care collections, by streamlining them to take into account the new National Indicator Set for local authorities. This will inevitably result in a reduction in those collections.
  • Further develop plans for the National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS), first release launched 17 July 2009, which would be a shared repository for management information. The NASCIS will support local benchmarking and allow a national focus on filling information gaps, including information to meet the equalities agenda
  • Have a stronger focus on standards, giving a more consistent approach to gathering and recording information at local and national level
  • Increase momentum around a national informatics programme to align health and social care information
  • Back a more co-ordinated approach to the different projects and activities which contribute to the national agenda. Involving all key stakeholders and led by the DH, this will ensure that social care is underpinned by reliable information and intelligence.

The report has been accepted in full by the NHS Information Centre Board, and its recommendations are now being made to the Department of Health for decision. Full details are given in the reports and supporting papers listed below.

Supporting papers:

We are consulting on proposed changes to our adult social care collections, which has been shaped by the report above. To make formal changes to collections, we must now follow an official 12 week national statistics consultation process. Take part in the consultation.