Social Service Knowledge Scotland has provided on its website a range of information about good practice, policy, publications, frameworks and leaflets. The site states that it was developed in partnership with The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) and others, and is built on NHS Education for Scotland ‘s long-established information technology, The Knowledge Network.
The information provided varies widely from directly practical aspects of care, challenging behaviour, and nutrition to staff registration and evidence based practice.
A Valuable Resource
This resource is immensely detailed, for example in support planning it gives links on key areas such as:
- Advance care planning – guide for health and social care staff
- Develop, implement and review care plans for individuals
- Good practice in care planning
- In the family way: Five years of caring for kinship carers in Scotland
- Person-centred planning in social care
- Pro-active, planned and co-ordinated: care management in Scotland
- Supporting people with long term conditions to self-care
- The care planning cycle
- What is a care plan?
- Values and planning in social care
- Video and eLearning
- Key Organisations
Make Sure It’s Relevant to You
As illustration, the advanced care planning gives best practice established since 2008 in NHS services. It may be best to check that local legislation and practice frameworks are relevant in whichever part of the UK the website resource is consulted, since practice and legislation can sometimes vary. For example, the link on good practice in care planning refers to partnership working, rightly as very important, however, the examples given relate to areas of service in England and the NHS document used dates from 2007. It is easy to see this perhaps as supplementing or underlying more recent and more local developments in best practice overall.
Information Rich
Since providing care has become increasingly professionalised and more highly regulated, this range of information is very welcome and useful. It is important to note that it is freely available for consultation, (although some publications may need registration). As such, it can be used for self-directed training, up to date knowledge of best practice and in providing formal training to staff groups and organisations.
As a resource, this is a very accessible and wide ranging. Maintaining up to date knowledge and best practice as this develops will be important to maintain its usefulness. It certainly has its place in the information-rich environment of providing care in today’s services.
