What is FAME?
FAME stands for: FrAmework for Multi-Agency Environments, it was a government funded project. The FAME framework enabled appropriate agencies to share computerised information. Shropshire was one of six original schemes throughout the country and is the only one within the Mental Health Services. Partners of FAME were the Shropshire County Council, Strategic Health Authority, Borough of Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire County Primary Care Trust.
FAME Locally
Social Care jointly provide Mental Health Services with the Health Authorities. They share information which is stored on their respective information systems and could only previously be accessed via more formal procedures.
FAME is the joining up of this information from both these systems into a virtual integrated record onto a computer screen for Mental Health practitioners to access – formerly this information was shared via a paper file which had to be moved between work areas.
Much of the work carried out by Mental Health Services is assessment which in itself is about gathering information from as many sources as possible so that informed decisions can be made regarding need and risk.
The Community Mental Health Teams, Emergency Duty Team, Assertive Outreach, Crisis Resolution Teams and Criminal Justice Liaison workers across Shropshire have access to the system; the next phase is to enable other authorised teams to have access. Service users were involved in the project from the start. FAME allows Mental Health practitioners to look up on a computer the information already held by the Primary Care Trust and Social Services on a known Service User.