Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (Health)

What is a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment?

Coventry's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (2007) places a duty upon Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to undertake Joint Strategic Needs Assessments.

Government Guidance describes this as a process which ‘will identify the current and future health and well-being needs of a local population, informing the priorities and targets set by Local Area Agreements and leading to agreed commissioning priorities that will improve outcomes and reduce health inequalities’.

In simple terms this is a way of collecting, analysing and using evidence to shape service priorities and delivery.

The JSNA should be seen as the totality of The JSNA Data Book 2009, The Children's Data Book 2009 and The Annual Report of the Director of Public Health

Responsibility for implementation is placed with NHS Coventry's Director of Public Health, and the City Council's Director of Children, Learning and Young People’s Services and the Director of Community Services.

Further information is set out in the Department of Health Document Guidance on Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

How is it being undertaken?

The principles and process were agreed by the Local Public Services Board on 8th April 2008.

Very strong emphasis is being placed upon ensuring that the JSNA complements Coventry Partnership and partners’ existing mechanisms, so that it is part of a dynamic process which:

Is part of the Coventry Partnership’s performance management arrangements and supports delivery of the outcomes set out in the Sustainable Communities Strategy and Local Area Agreement and informs Partnership priorities;
Is outcomes focussed, as opposed to being led by indicators in the Government guidance;
Makes best use of existing monitoring and evaluation evidence, and of consultation and involvement mechanisms;
We learn from how others within the region who have undertaken strategic assessment for health and social care;
Make results easily accessible - these will be published on the Coventry Partnership website and include information about the strategic assessment has influenced service delivery.

Process & timescales for development

The agreed steps for undertaking the first Strategic Assessment are:

Date	action
March 23 2009	Children's data day
June 24 2009	Consultation with Coventry LINk
June 30 2009	JSNA Data Day
July 14 2009	NHS Coventry Board
October 14 2009	Coventry City Council Scrutiny Board
Novemver 6 2009	Coventry Partnership Board

Commissioning Cycle

Access the Strategic Assessment cycle

What will the JSNA do?

The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment will:

Provide evidence of need and suggest priorities to inform the commissioning cycle;
Bring together disparate work and ‘paint’ an overall picture of Coventry’s health needs;
Identify gaps in evidence that need to be filled through further research and / or analysis;
Involve consideration of the effects of transition from children to adult services

Drawing upon existing systems of assessment

A key principle underpinning this work is that full use of evidence already generated will be made. Key documents that include this evidence are being collated and include these:

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