KEPA Uusimaa newsletter 3/2022 September: Service development work continues at the client interface level
The second and final autumn of the KEPA Uusimaa project has just started. The work will now focus on competence development, consideration of clients with intellectual disabilities and similar functional limitations in developing the social and health care services, and fine-tuning the services’ client processes.
In July and September, two operating model pilot projects were launched at two different wellbeing services counties. The projects aim to provide information, a model of the cooperation between the housing service units and the health centre and an assessment of the operating models’ functionality. The projects measure and determine differences and experiences between centrally arranged and non-centralised contact services. Centralised contact service means that contact from a housing service unit is directed to the health centre, and there, the nurse who is designated for the unit’s residents. The results allow us to assess the benefits and challenges of the contact options from the perspective of both the residents and employees.
“We are pleased that the housing service units and health centres have been willing to participate in the development experiments despite the challenging situation in the social and health care sector,” says Tiina Hannikainen, Project Specialist in charge of the pilot work.
A handbook supporting competence development and orientation is also being prepared. The handbook contains tips for serving clients with intellectual disabilities or similar functional limitations and recommended models for organising operations to consider the specific needs of the client group with reasonable adaptations. Also, the smoothness of client processes between the wellbeing services counties and centralised services proposed to the Joint Authority HUS are discussed. Based on the training needs survey carried out in spring 2022, a training plan focusing on issues related to intellectual disability will be prepared to develop the competence of healthcare professionals.
In addition to experts from the organisations, Finnish- and Swedish-speaking panels of clients and people close to the clients will provide client perspectives. The client panels will be held during September and November.