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.  

Local services are under increasing pressure, working with families in crisis. The teams, which comprise Early Help, Community NHS Teams, a primary care representative, West Mercia Police and other partners, identify opportunities to work with families at an earlier stage. They will 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. 

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. 

There are now five regular multi-disciplinary integration meetings, called consultation panels, in operation across Shropshire, covering Oswestry, Market Drayton, north Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Ludlow, and the hinterlands around these areas.  

Work is underway to establish the approach across all areas of the county, linked to the five integrated practitioner teams already working together.  

This work is linked to the developing community and family hubs, as we grow the integrated offer in our communities. More information will be available on our hub approach in the future. We're working hard with colleagues across health, care, the voluntary and community sector, our communities and others to ensure that communities have access to what they need, at the right time, closer to home. 

The Integration teams base their work on evidence and learning from other areas, where a similar approach has been adopted. Positive impacts include:

• Improved outcomes for families
• Families having more positive contact with services and practitioners
• Improved communication between staff in different organisations
• Strengthened connections to local communities

The integration test and learn sites are exciting and positive, and the concept has been well received by the staff themselves, who are highly motivated to develop a new way of working, recreating partnerships across the NHS, council, voluntary and community sectors.

Integration consultation panels are currently available in the areas listed below, with future teams planned as follows:

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.

The consultation panel form should be completed alongside an early help family agreement form signed by the family. 

We’ve put together a process flowchart to help understand the purpose of the integrated teams and to complete the consultation panel.