1. Ensure people with HIV, have their needs assessed and met for welfare benefits, housing, advocacy, peer support and other practical help and support carers.

Through a contract with Positive Action South West, we have been supporting:

• Advice and information surgeries in the two main Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM) Clinics based in Exeter and Barnstaple Hospital outpatients.
• Individual spot purchasing arrangements to enable continued provision of a range of services for people diagnosed with HIV or AIDS.

High priority for steering group is extension of the Positive Action South West surgeries to ensure maximum access to social care services for individuals using Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM-HIV) clinics but who may fear the stigma associated with seeking help through locality offices.

Ensure that the Single Assessment Process (SAP) will support identification and assessment of people with needs associated with HIV and AIDS.

Commission training for care managers on the needs of people with HIV, including awareness raising, risk management and improving understanding of the emotional impact of living with HIV on service users, their carers and support workers.

The main finding of research and consultation is that dealings with problems of confidentiality and stigma are crucial in providing an appropriate service for HIV positive individuals and families.  We are responding to this by developing a training programme through Positive Action Southwest and through a plan to increase access to Direct Payments for individuals identified by the SAP.

2. Information

To agree a revised approach to the Better Care Higher Standards Charter resulting in publication of information on standards in 2004/5. Ensure that the Charter addresses Human Rights and Equalities legislation.

Evaluation of the agencies' performance against the Charter standards.

Revise leaflet and develop web pages.

3. Make sure that people with HIV can benefit from wider initiatives that promote social inclusion.

We have worked with the Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Health and Social Care community to ensure that planning for HIV and AIDS social care interventions are closely integrated with the wider Health and Public Health agenda.

High priority for steering group is the consolidation of work to ensure access to services by homeless substance misusers and asylum seekers who constitute key high-risk groups both in terms of infection and social exclusion.

Ensure that the needs of people with HIV and their carers are included in Local Strategic Partnerships planning.

4. Ensure that people with HIV are involved in the planning of services.

We have set up a small steering group including front line staff from Health, Social Services, the voluntary sector and representatives speaking on behalf of service users and carers to plan and monitor the development of social care responses to HIV.

5. Work with a Devon multi-agency commissioning group, developing a sexual health and HIV plan.

This work is ongoing. At present there is no expectation of pooled budgets but a small amount of joint commissioning is being developed, particularly in relation to services to assist the management of depression and other emotional consequences of HIV.

This group will develop a:

• Commissioning strategy;
• Work in partnership with users;
• Examine the possibility of developing lead commissioning arrangements using pooled budgets.

6. Maintain contracted specialist services

Continue to use specific grants to purchase social care from voluntary organisations. This includes provision of services based on assessment of need.

Grants have been used to purchase a Service Level Agreement with Positive Action South West and a range of individual social care and support services for clients.

7. Extend the provision of Direct Payments to this group

Increase the number of people who explore, and then go on to take up Direct Payments, as the best way of meeting their needs.

To date we have achieved little progress in this area. However, plans are being developed with Positive Action SouthWest to help us promote and facilitate expansion of direct payments during 2003/04.

8. Supporting People

To ensure that the accommodation needs of people with HIV and AIDS are addressed in the Supporting People programme.

Work is ongoing with Supporting People, housing providers and advice agencies to promote this work.