Standards & Quality Indicators
New research by the University of Lincoln in partnership with Revolving Doors set out to improve healthcare for people on probation by developing a set of standards & quality indicators for health improvement. The project, led by Coral Sirdifield, was driven by the knowledge that many people under probation supervision are in poor health, but do not access care until crisis point. Often, services do not meet their needs. To change this the study set out to know more about these individuals’ health and social care needs, what services they access, their experiences when accessing services, and which of their needs are met and unmet.
The project focused on improving data collection and developing quality indicators to measure and monitor health outcomes and the quality of the care that people under probation supervision receive.
Quality indicators
The research team based their quality indicators on consultations with professionals working in the criminal justice & health field and a literature review. You can find the 31 indicators, grouped the the eleven characteristics of high-quality care identified in the research here. The indicators focus on such areas as:
- Screening & assessment
- GP registration
- Routine assessment of risk of suicide
- Collaborative working across the CJS and health services
- Needs-led care
- Accessible services
- A compassionate, person-centred approach
- The role for people with lived experience
Once the indicators had been produced and revised on the basis of the views of health and criminal justice professionals, the project worked with people with lived experience of being on probation to develop an easy-read poster summary of the findings designed to be displayed in probation offices. I have reproduced the poster below.
