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Seminar Operational Research Society: Health and Social Services Study Group How Geography and Population Distribution Affect Costs and Service Delivery for Public Services Presenter: Dr. Tony Hindle of HCS Ltd. and Lancaster University. Thursday 12 February 2004. Start 5pm, until 7pm (coffee from 4.30 onwards). London School of Economics, Room V710, Building - Tower 2 For maps of the LSE and surrounding area go to [ fcp:[log in to unmask],%231018444/MailBox/_blank/www.lse.ac.uk/School/maps/map1.htm ]www.lse.ac.uk/School/maps/map1.htm All are welcome, you do not have to be a Society or Study GRoup member to attend Abstract: This talk presents the findings of an ongoing research programme that has examined how geography and population distribution affect costs and service delivery in the public service arena. Spanning a range of projects for clients such as the DHSS&PS in Northern Ireland, the County Councils Network and the Countryside Agency, a mature approach known as Simplified Modelling of Spatial Systems (SMOSS) has been developed. This approach has allowed comparisons to be made of travel and scale-related effects in delivering public services between different communities - Local Authorities, Districts, and Health Board Areas and so on. Funding received by Authorities from Central Government is determined by complex calculations involving a range of factors such as population size, levels of deprivation, etc. These calculations are intended to reflect needs for services so that, in principle, each Authority is able to provide the same level of services to their local populations. In practice, however, there is ongoing debate as to whether such formulae distribute money fairly. One argument in this debate relates to "geodemographic" features of the areas served. Rural areas, which tend to be sparsely populated and cover large geographical areas, have argued that such features are not sufficiently taken into account in the funding formulae. Research has shown that providing services in rural areas can necessitate small operational teams and high travel distances; both of which lead to unavoidable reductions in the efficiency of service provision. Also, giving residents in rural areas equal access to emergency services such as fire and ambulance can lead to organisational units which are under-utilised in comparison with urban units. On the other hand, urban areas often complain they are faced with traffic flow difficulties that adversely affect their ability to provide spatially distributed services. Researching these issues presents the following problem. Areas that face unavoidable extra costs will often react by reducing the range and scope of services actually provided, particularly where services are discretionary. Hence, a traditional economic analysis that compares actual expenditures in rural and urban authorities can all too readily fail to achieve a comparison of like with like. In particular, costs in rural areas may appear lower for particular services, but this may simply be a reflection of historical under funding. A way forward in this problem area has been found using an approach that has come to be known as Simplified Modelling of Spatial Systems (SMOSS). SMOSS works on the basic premise that the only way to compare the costliness of services in different geographical areas is to compare delivery systems of equal service quality. The SMOSS methodology achieves this by building idealised operational models of the services to be provided in areas having different geodemographic features and driving such models from appropriately need-weighted populations. Two key features of the methodology are the need for detailed digital information of road networks and efficient feasible models of the travelling behaviour of service delivery systems; for example, visiting clients, collecting clients and responding to emergency calls. An approach to this task using MapPoint by Microsoft embedded within Excel has been found to be highly effective in a wide range of projects. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ann Taket Professor of Primary Health Care Director of MPhil/PhD Research Programmes Faculty of Health and Social Care (Erlang House) London South Bank University 103 Borough Road London SE1 0AA UK tel: +44 (0) 20-7815-8097 fax: +44 (0) 20-7815-8099 please mark fax FAO Prof. Taket email: [log in to unmask]