Centre for Policy on Ageing



A survey of social services needs assessments for elderly mentally ill people in England and Wales
Author(s)	Mark Martin, Julia Pehrson, Martin Orrell
Journal title	Age and Ageing, vol 28, no 6, October 1999
Pages	pp 575-577
Keywords	Mental disorder ; Needs [elderly] ; Evaluation ; Social Services Departments ; Policy ; Social surveys.
Annotation	Variations are examined in the needs assessment policies and practices of social services departments (SSDs) in England and Wales in dealing with older people with mental illness. Of 61 of the 119 SSDs sent a 99-item questionnaire, 40 (66%) responded. There were substantial differences in the way referrals were screened before needs assessment and in the design of needs assessment procedures. Disagreements between health and social services were common and, although mechanisms existed to respond to urgent needs, almost one-third found such responses difficult to make. There are national variations in the way needs assessments are performed by social services, which may lead to inequalities in provision of care to individuals. The lack of a standardised approach impedes comparisons of need between areas which might aid in the distribution of resources at a national level. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-991201235 A
Classmark	E: IK: 4C: PF: QAD: 3F
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.