Registration on Support Needs System (SNS)

Registration on SNS will allow identification and mapping of children meeting the CEN criteria. This will improve service planning and the audit of services.

The SNS aims to:

• Enable early identification, assessment and monitoring of children with Special Needs
• Ensure that information output meet the needs of practitioners and managers

In achieving the above aims the Support Needs System should form an integral part of the way in which health professionals work in the community. Once a child has been notified, they will have a named local Community Child Health doctor who will be responsible for co-ordinating services to meet their special needs. The system provides a facility whereby the child's needs and problems can accurately be defined, and reviewed on a regular basis. Sharing information among health professionals is promoted through the provision of regular summary reports to all those involved. Outputs will enable clinicians and managers to identify patterns of need to allow planning of various support services, and to facilitate retrieval of information for research and audit purposes.

Recording children meeting the criteria without the use of SNS

Areas that do not use the SNS system can use the NMCN CEN assessment criteria to identify children and young people with exceptional healthcare needs and register them on their own system. The NMCN CEN is working together with NHS boards using SNS as well as NHS boards without SNS to collect accurate data and map the children and young people across Scotland.

Useful web sites:

• http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3397.html

Useful documents:

• Support needs system Clinical Guidelines
• SNS Functional Assessment Form
• SNS Full Assessment form
• Definitions of severe and profound disability from SNS
• SNS referral form