PEN pictures: turning provider feedback into practical change
Hampshire Care Association publishes a new Provider Evidence Report
PEN pictures: turning provider feedback into practical change
New HCA research highlights significant concerns about the accuracy and completeness of PEN pictures but also a clear opportunity for providers, local authorities and health partners to work together to improve the process.
Hampshire Care Association has published a new Provider Evidence Report following feedback from care providers across Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth about their experience of PEN pictures and the referral and placement process.
The findings highlight a recurring concern about the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of information provided to care providers.
Of providers who had received and reviewed a PEN picture in the previous six months, 88% said a local authority/social worker PEN picture they received was inaccurate or incomplete. For hospital discharge/ICB referrals, the figure was 61%.
Providers told us that the impact can go well beyond additional administration, including extra staff time and cost, distress for individuals and families, emergency reassessments, safeguarding concerns and delays or difficulties in arranging care.
Listening to providers and listening to partners
The report is not intended simply to highlight what isn't working.
HCA brought providers together through a dedicated Provider Network discussion in July, alongside the wider survey, to understand the practical experience of receiving and responding to PEN pictures.
Providers recognised and welcomed Hampshire County Council's willingness to engage with the sector and improve the placement process. The discussions were open and constructive, while identifying consistent themes around communication, accuracy, timeliness, transparency and the quality of information available.
There are also examples of positive practice that providers want to see protected and built on, including electronic contracting, structured online referral and bidding platforms, digital tracking and opportunities for early suitability discussions.
What do providers want to see change?
The feedback identified a number of practical priorities, including:
- confirming the preferred provider with the individual or family before providers are approached;
- clearer and more up-to-date information about clinical needs and risks;
- a named contact for each referral;
- better communication about delays and backlogs;
- more consistent information about levels of need and complexity;
- realistic timescales for providers to mobilise care; and
- stronger quality assurance of referral and discharge information
The report also identifies a longer-term opportunity to develop a Hampshire-wide referral information standard, bringing together providers, commissioners and health partners and building on good practice already identified.
From evidence to action
For HCA, the important next step is what happens with this evidence.
We will share the anonymised findings with local authority commissioners, ICB partners and NHS colleagues and seek opportunities to work jointly on the issues raised.
The aim is simple: better information, better communication and a more consistent process – supporting safer transitions into care and reducing avoidable pressure on providers, commissioners, health services and, most importantly, people and their families.
The full Provider Evidence Report has been shared with HCA members first. We will continue to keep members updated as discussions with statutory partners develop.
This is what effective partnership should look like: providers being willing to speak openly about what isn't working, commissioners and health partners being willing to listen, and everyone working together to make practical improvements.
