Health and Homelessness standards

Health and Homelessness standards

Section 5: Performance Assessment

Health and homelessness has been featured in NHSScotland's Performance Assessment Framework since 2001. As the policy has matured so has the measurement of performance which evolved to include the delivery of the Homelessness Task Force's health recommendations.

The method of performance assessment up until March 2005 relied heavily upon Performance and Assessment Visits (see Section 2, Background) including feedback from partner organisations supporting the delivery of Health and Homelessness Action Plans. This was a useful approach as it provided the Scottish Executive Health Department with good quality information on progress, and on barriers to delivery. This is also now the basis for the Health and Homelessness Standards.

With the new and enhanced framework the assessment process is changing. The Standards will come into effect from April 2005 and meeting these is expected to form the Performance Assessment Framework indicator. Performance against the Standards will be evaluated by an annual self-assessment return. In addition there will be independent scrutiny of the self-assessment returns in order to provide a further degree of analysis. The outcomes will be reviewed by the Health Department and exceptions reported in to the Accountability Review process. This is the principal forum for feeding back performance issues to NHS Boards on an annual basis and is led by the Minister, or Deputy Minister, for Health and Community Care.

Further information on the Performance Assessment Framework can be found at www.paf.scot.nhs.uk/pafi