Integration practitioner teams and consultation panels

What are Integration Practitioner Teams and Consultation Panels?

The integration work, as part of One Shropshire, has several key strands of development which include multi-disciplinary integrated practitioner teams and community and family hubs, developing in local communities. The work brings together multi-agency partners based in Shropshire. The teams provide an efficient means of considering and exploring how best to identify and meet the needs of families, children and young people, where their current situation is negatively impacting on them.  

Any service or partner agency supporting children, young people or families, providing early intervention and prevention support, can be a member of the integration practitioner teams. The team aims to improve the lives of families, children and young people and reduce the need for more specialist services across the council, the NHS and the wider early help system. We want to support families, children and young people to access the right support, in the right place and the right time.

There are now five regular multi-disciplinary integration meetings, called consultation panels, in operation across Shropshire.  

Why would I refer a family for discussion at a Consultation Panel?

A professional can refer any family, child or young person to the Integration Consultation Panel, for a variety of reasons, some of which might include:

• Improve communication and information sharing across the partnership to improve outcomes for the family
• A partner agency might be unsure what other partner agencies are available to support the family
• Strengthen the family’s connection to the local community
• Supporting families to gain trust in services
• Lead professional to be supported by the team of teams, with the family that they are working with
• Sharing ideas, services and information of how best to support the family resulting in an action plan to progress the family’s

How do I refer a family for discussion?

Any family in Shropshire can be referred into the Integration Consultation panels, the consultation panel form should be completed alongside an early help family agreement form signed by the family.

Once we have received the referral, the integration co-ordinator will invite the lead professional/referrer to the correct geographical panel for discussion. We’ve put together a process flowchart to help understand the purpose of the integrated teams and to complete the consultation panel.

Roles and responsibilities of integration consultation panel

The consultation panel form should be used by all partners who would like to present the work they're doing with a family to the Integrated Practitioner Team, where a joint approach may benefit that family.

The Integration projects bring together multi-agency partners based in Shropshire. The teams provide an efficient means of considering and exploring how best to identify and meet the needs of the families, children and young people, where their current situation is negatively impacting on them. The multi-agency approach reduces the potential risk of the situation escalating further by providing access or signposting to the right level of support in a timely way.