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Adult Social Services Review Panel
Wednesday, 9th November, 2016

Adult Social Services Review Panel Minutes

Date:
Wednesday 9th November 2016
Time:
5:00 p.m.
Place:
Room F10, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon, CR0 1NX
 

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillor Louisa Woodley (Chair)
Councillors: Margaret Bird, Yvette Hopley, and Callton Young

Also present:
Pratima Solanki, Director of Adult Social Care and All-age Disability; Sean Olivier, Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator; Sarah Ireland, Director of Strategy, Communities and Commissioning; Graham Terry, Head of Transformation and Clienting; Nick Sherlock, Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance
Apologies for absence:
Councillor Pat Clouder

Item Item/Resolution
MINUTES - PART A
A37/16 DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST

No disclosures of interest were made during the meeting.

A38/16 MINUTES OF THE ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES PANEL HELD ON 5 JULY 2016

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2016, be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

A39/16 URGENT BUSINESS (IF ANY)

There was no urgent business.

A40/16 EXEMPT ITEMS

The Panel RESOLVED that the allocation of items between Part A and Part B of the agenda be confirmed, as printed.

A41/16 UPDATE ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF ADULT SOCIAL CARE PROGRAMME

Graham Terry, Head of Transformation and Clienting, updated the Panel regarding the continued programme of transformation of the adult social care.

 

The Head of Transformation and Clienting highlighted the key achievements since the last meeting of the Panel which included the CREST pilot which had run for a week and was due to run until mid-January 2017. The pilot was due to test diverting some adult social care demand to the Gateway service, where appropriate. The carers resource allocation system (RAS) was also due to be launched after having been tested and welcomed by carers and the Carers Forum as the RAS would ensure an equitable system of awarding funding to carers. Information that had been provided to the Carers Forum would be circulated to the Panel for their information.

 

The Head of Transformation and Clienting also highlighted that those who had attended the Cherry Orchard day centre had been successfully moved to alternative venues in order for building work to be undertaken for the Youth Zone development. The Panel were further informed that the TRASC newsletter for October 2016 had been circulated to staff and a copy would be circulated to members of the Panel for their information.

 

Following questions the Head of Transformation and Clienting confirmed that the CREST offer was available to council and private properties which enabled a synergy of services. The pilot would enable the benefits to be assessed and an updated would be provided at the next Panel meeting. The Director of Adult Social Care and All-age Disability stated that it had been previously been found that social workers were not closing cases due to housing and employment issues and it was hoped that this would provide assistance to those clients through the Gateway service.

 

The Head of Transformation and Clienting informed the Panel that all the clients at the Cherry Orchard site had been relocated, and that the site in Addington was a modern facility that required little additional equipment. Clients were enjoying the facility and no complaints had been received.

 

In response to questions the Head of Transformation and Clienting informed the Panel that local people had been asking for a system that provided easier access to personal assistants, however the bid for funding had been unsuccessful and the council was now looking at alternative ways for setting up a Personal Assistant Register.

 

The Chair thanked officers for their work.

 

The Panel RESOLVED to note the content of the report.
 

A42/16 LOCAL AUTHORITY TRADING COMPANY (LATC) UPDATE

Sarah Ireland, Director of Strategy, Communities and Commissioning gave an update on the current position regarding the LATC. The Council had taken the decision to terminate contract for day care opportunities and the services had been brought back in house successfully in August 2016. The decision had been made subsequently to also to bring in house the rest of the LATC services as it was no longer sustainable.

 

The Panel were informed that the lessons learnt form the insourcing of the day centres such as the transition of staff into the council which had gone well will be applied to the rest of the services together with ensuring that the services are more efficient.

 

Following questions the Director of Strategy, Communities and Commissioning stated that legal advice had been sought and the council was able to trade with other public bodies and could make a profit. In terms of contracts there were two types; purchase only, and purchase and delivery, and the aim was to correct the contracts with authorities. The Director of Strategy, Communities and Commissioning stated that she was confident that the service would breakeven and start making a profit from 2017/18 as they would begin to price items correctly.

 

The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability confirmed that she had spoken to the directors of adult social care from other authorities and they were aware that they had previously had a good deal for the equipment service. The directors of adult social care were aware that the situation would change following negotiations that were to take place in December 2016, and that the changes would need to be built into their budgets.

 

Following concerns raised the Director of Strategy, Communities and Commissioning confirmed that the previous issues with the LATC were around the pricing of the delivery and that in future the service would ensure that costs were covered and that the purchasing benefits would be realised. Croydon now had the expertise in providing the service and it was important to make use of that experience.

 

The Panel noted the content of the update.
 

A43/16 OUTCOMES BASED COMMISSIONING UPDATE

Sarah Ireland, Director of Strategy Communities and Commissioning, Pratima Solanki, Director of Adult Social Care and All-age Disability, gave an update on Outcomes Based Commissioning (OBC). The Panel were informed that an alliance was being formed, however it was important to note that Croydon CCG and Croydon University Hospital were in special measures and negotiations were ongoing. A paper on OBC was due to go to Cabinet in December 2016 with an update on progress.

 

The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability stated they were developing a model of care which would enable the transformation of adult social care that was required and mirrored the Adult Social Care Transformation Programme. It would enable people to have a life and a care plan that was personalised to them; with the LIFE (Living Independently for Everyone) model assisting people so they did not end up in hospital and an integrated system around hospital discharge.

 

Good outcomes had been noted from the TRASC programme with 46% of referrals not resulting into full social care assessments.

 

The Panel were informed that at the next meeting there would be further details on the work completed and the success rates. The Chair noted that while Croydon was further on than other authorities, it was important to have all the right systems in place and that partners were aware of what was required.

 

The Director of Strategy Communities and Commissioning stated the council was very mindful that it was opening itself up for demand and hoped funds would move around the community services, prevention work and acute services. Officers were, however, conscious that the provider and commissioner were in special measures and it was important that the regulators understood the programme. By working closely to align services it was hoped it would help the hospital.

 

The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability informed the Panel that she had had sight of Croydon University Hospital's recovery plan and had completed an impact assessment with regards to the council. Early supported discharge had been part of the plan which the council raised concerns around, and had led to the council and hospital to bid jointly for funding to support the programme.

 

In response to Member questions the Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability confirmed she had not seen the CCG's recovery plan.

 

The Director of Strategy Communities and Commissioning stated that adult social care and health was unsustainable across the country, and that integration was required to enable adult social care to work. It was important for adult social care to work as it enabled fewer people to enter acute care which cost more money to fund.

 

In response to Member questions the Director of Strategy Communities and Commissioning informed the Panel that there was a governance process which shared the risk across the partners and had legal standing. The work was complex and ground breaking, and it was important that the relationships were in a strong position.

 

The Director of Strategy Communities and Commissioning confirmed that all partners had to meet their own deficits, however funding would move around the partners. In the long term there could be a accountable care organisation which shared the risk, however while the health service could be in deficit the council could not be in debt.

 

The Panel noted the content of the update.
 

A44/16 ANNUAL SAFEGUARDING REPORT

The Panel were informed that the report of the Croydon Safeguarding Children Board was not intended to be considered at this meeting, however it would be taken to Cabinet with the Croydon Safeguarding Adult Board report.

 

Nick Sherlock, Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance presented the Annual Safeguarding report of the Croydon Safeguarding Adults Board to the Panel. It was noted that Croydon had an independent Chair for both the Croydon Safeguarding Adults Board and the Children's Safeguarding Board which was a positive position. In addition it was noted that there had been work between the two Boards and the council would support further collaborative work.

 

The Panel were informed that there continued to be an increase in safeguarding reports, however it was a trend that was reflected nationally. The Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance noted that it was important that thresholds were reviewed as the number of allegations which had been substantiated remained low at 10-15%.

 

The Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance noted that safeguarding was important to all teams and that the council was ensuring staff were appropriately trained by undergoing a phased process of training which would be implemented by June 2017.

 

In response to Members questions the Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance noted that the increase in safeguarding reports was possibly due to the increase in awareness, following the Care Act, that it was a statutory obligation to report abuse and it was the responsibility of the council to make enquiries. Due to this other professionals and organisations were playing it safe and were reporting incidents. It was considered important to establish thresholds with clear guidance of what constituted a Section 42 for other organisations.

 

The Head of Adult Safeguarding and Quality Assurance informed the Panel that it was mainly professionals who reported concerns which became a referral. When a referral was made a risk assessment was conducted and the person referred to would be contacted along with the person who submitted the referral to ensure it was a safeguarding issue. A triage system had been introduced which reviewed the referrals and made a decision on whether it constituted a Section 42.

 

Following a number of referrals by the Police the council had worked with the organisation on ensuring more appropriate referrals were being submitted, however the Head of Transformation and Clienting assured Members that the council wanted concerns to be shared so that they could be triaged and managed appropriately. The Panel were assured that all referrals were investigated, recorded and monitored, however it was noted that some people did not wish to be considered under a full safeguarding enquiry.

 

The Panel noted that the introduction to the report required some amendments ahead of its final publication which officers noted.

 

In response to Member questions the Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator informed the Panel that the report had been written before funding had been received for work with hoarders. The scale of hoarding in the borough had been identified 18 months before, however the review would be rerun and pilot would be set up to assist those affected.

 

The Panel noted the annual report of the Croydon Safeguarding Adult Board.
 

A45/16 SWL SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION PLAN

Pratima Solanki, Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability, gave an update on the South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP). The STP was intended to show how local services would evolve and become sustainable over the following five years - ultimately to deliver the Five Year Forward View of better health, better patient care and improved NHS efficiency. The South West London STP involved six local authorities and 44 STP ‘footprints' had been developed and the authorities had agreed to jointly fund a Programme Director who would coordinate the work streams and provide the wider programme management.

 

The Chair informed the Panel that at a recent conference a number of authorities stated they were unhappy with the STPs as they had not included adult social care and had been unable to have sight of it.

 

The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability stated that Croydon had a different relationship with the health services than other authorities had. The council had been working with adult social care directors across south west London and had developed a programme that would input into the STP. It was recognised that patients moved across borough boundaries for services that it was important that they did not work in isolation and worked with the south west London STP.

 

The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability informed the Panel that the footprints of CCGs was set to change with Kingston, Merton, Sutton and Richmond to become a single CCG and Croydon was to remain a single CCG.

 

The Panel noted the Sustainability and Transformation Plan workstreams.
 

A46/16 CAMERA RESOLUTION

The Panel RESOLVED under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act. As proposed by Councillor Louisa Woodley and Seconded by Councillor Yvette Hopley.

 

The remainder of the meeting included disclosure of exempt information (as defined by paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A in Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972: ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)’. The minutes of the discussion are therefore also exempt and not available to the public. A summary of the discussion is below, as required by section 100C(2) of the Local Government Act 1972.
 

A47/16 AGENDA - PART B

The Panel RESOLVED that the Part B minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2016 be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

(N.B. A copy of the Part B minutes are attached to Part B of the 1 February 2017 meeting)

A48/16 PROVIDER MARKET CONCERNS

The Panel considered updates from those care homes currently being monitored through the serious concern protocol and supported by the Care Support Team. A concern may be linked to a poor CQC report or due to a serious incident(s) occurring within the establishment.

 

RESOLVED that the Panel note the report.

 

(N.B. A copy of the report is attached to Part B of the 1 February 2017 meeting.)

MINUTES - PART B
  None
The meeting ended at 7:19 pm