The first national pilot of Connected Care is taking place in the Owton ward of Hartlepool. It is a partnership between ward residents, ward councillors, community associations and local services.

The audit
The first stage of delivering a Connected Care service in Hartlepool consists of a Connected Care audit to determine the needs and aspirations of local residents, current service users and carers and their perceptions about patterns and structures of current services including the composition and roles of the current workforce. This is used to inform a Connected Care specification for an integrated health and social care service.

What does the service look like?
The Connected Care service in Hartlepool comprises of the following elements:

• Navigators, working to improve access, promote early interventions, support choice, ensure a holistic approach, and integrate with universal and long term support.
• A complex care team integrating specialist health, social care and housing support.
• A project co-ordinator to manage the service and promote change in the wider service system.
• The development of a range of low level support services that focus on maintaining independence.

The social enterprise in Owton
It has always been envisaged that Connected Care would be delivered by a new social enterprise set up for this purpose. Social enterprises are businesses with three main characteristics:

It was agreed that the most appropriate form for the social enterprise in Owton was a Community Interest Company limited by shares. This would ensure that the Connected Care CIC could be a proper social enterprise, free to operate in a competitive market (and the health and social care market is becoming more competitive every day) while at the same time obliged to operate so that it will always be responsive to local communities  and be locally accountable.

Evaluation
Connected Care has been regularly and rigorous monitored and will also provide a model that is evaluated and can be replicated in other areas. An independent evaluation has been carried out by the University of Durham in order to assess the effectiveness of the Connected Care service to date. A link to a summary of evaluation can be found on the right hand side of the page.

Individual budgets
Turning Point is also carrying out a project regarding brokering direct payments and individual budgets for people with mental health needs in Hartlepool.   We are piloting and evaluate brokerage for people with mental health problems by providing navigated care and brokerage support to implement individual budgets, including direct payments, monitoring efficacy and identifying barriers to success.