Operating Protocol

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ICT and Ops sub-group - Disability Information Service

Operating Protocol

1. Background

1.1. Among the recommendations of the Devon Social Service's Best Value Review for People with Physical Disabilities and / or Acquired Brain Injury (June 2004) was 'the establishment of a County-wide integrated disability information service'.

1.2 This will be achieved during 2006 as a Devon Disability Information Service (DIS) will be funded by the Devon Strategic Partnership for People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities and Acquired Brain Injury - a partnership of social services, health trusts and voluntary organisations.

2. Purpose of this Protocol:

2.1. The purpose of this Protocol is to outline how the DIS will operate within the CSC.

3. Roles and responsibilities:

3.1 The DIS will be an integral part of Devon County Council's 'My Devon' Customer Services Centre (CSC) who will provide facilities, staff management and recruitment for the DIS under a separate Agreement. The governance of the DIS will remain with the Devon Strategic Partnership for People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities and Acquired Brain Injury (DSP).

3.2. A CSC manager will be a full member of the Disability Information Service's governing committee.

4. Day-to-day operation:

4.1. Public calls into the DIS using the dedicated DIS contact number will be answered by an appropriate CSC Adviser as decided by the CSC operating processes. The expectation is that this Adviser will be part of the Care Direct service.

4.2. The CSC Adviser will recognise that the caller has used the DIS contact number and will acknowledge this when greeting the caller.

4.3. If the nature of the call can be answered to the caller's satisfaction by the CSC Adviser using existing Care Direct knowledge, information and processes, this will be done. If no personal information needs to be obtained from the caller, a record of the call type will be made and the call closed.

4.4. If the caller's enquiry cannot be answered using existing Care Direct knowledge, information and processes and the CSC Adviser believes the DIS may be able to help, the caller will be offered a transfer to an available DIS Adviser or, if this is not possible, the CSC Adviser will record details and arrange for a later call back from a DIS Adviser.

4.5. See also flowchart attached at Appendix 1.

5. When a CSC Adviser might pass callers on to the DIS

5.1. See Appendix 2. (Currently shows as a grid denoting current practice of Care Direct and possible priorities for when to use DIS - for Steering Group to decide)

5.2. Some calls on the Disability Information Service will go no further than existing Care Direct Advisers. Their knowledge and skills of helping people of sixty years of age and over will be enough to answer some caller's information needs.

5.3. It is also recognised that disability knows no age boundaries. Although people of sixty years of age and over do form the largest age-grouping of disabled people, Care Direct only started to handle all Social Services' Adult Services calls from people under 60 years of age, other than for mental health and learning disability, towards the end of 2005. So the Categories and Priorities grid at Appendix 2 can only serve as initial guidance; it will need to be reviewed.

6. General

6.1. If there is a planned change to the DIS which may increase calls to the CSC by more than 10%, the CSC Manager will be informed at least 2 weeks beforehand.

6.2. The CSC Manager will also be provided with 'frequently asked questions and answers' where there is a change to the service that may generate additional calls.

7. Timescale

7.1. This Protocol will be reviewed regularly during the Disability Information Service's first year of being open; and then yearly.

7.2. This Protocol shall remain extant unless and until a revised version is agreed by and with the Devon Strategic Partnership for People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities and Acquired Brain Injury.

Appendix 1 Flowchart

Referral flowchart for DIS.