title: The placement of a social service care manager in a GP surgery as a way to improve carer access to services and improve liaison between statutory agencies.
abstract: This paper reports on a pilot project funded jointly by South and West Devon Health Authority and Devon Social Service department which sought to overcome some of the problems encountered with liaison between services, and to improve carer experience and access to social services. This involved the placement in a Plymouth general practitioner (GP) surgery of a social service care manager who worked from the surgery and was allocated extra hours for carer support work. The project was evaluated and compared with the current experience of carers in the more 'traditional' setting. The experience and attitude of GPs in two other surgeries were also explored. The traditional model of work seen in Surgery B and C, the comparison surgeries, was a crisis intervention model which was regarded as adequate by the GPs involved, who had no experience of any other way of working. They directed the carers to telephone or write to social services themselves, or in a few cases the GP contacted social services on their behalf. However, the data showed that carers were less satisfied with this traditional model and preferred the more 'instant' access to support, made possible through the pilot worker in Surgery A. In the pilot project a short and informal visit to the pilot worker on request was seen as a relief by the carers. They had avoided the gate-keeping and bureaucracy involved in the 'normal' process. The drawing together of the various strands of the research showed conclusively that the pilot project in Surgery A was successful in meeting the majority of objectives set out for it. It has been a success in the perception of the carers and all of the professionals and staff involved. Staff involved all agreed that cross service collaboration between social services and the GP surgery had been improved, and that this had improved the service available to patients and carers.
authors.affiliation: University of Plymouth, Sociology Department, Drake Circus, Plymouth.
authors.forename: G.
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lankshear
authors.forename: G. G.
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Giarchi
authors.forename: V.
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hodges