Issue - meetings

Report CS18011

The Committee considered a report outlining a proposal to support hospital discharge and help prevent delayed discharges through the commissioning of additional nursing bed placements for a fixed period.  To deliver this it was requested that a variation be agreed to the existing nursing bed block contract with Mission Care for a period of up to nine months from 1^st July 2017, and that a temporary Project Manager post be created to oversee the management of the proposal.

The Local Authority had a statutory responsibility to ensure that it was not contributing towards the unnecessarily delay of patients being discharged from hospital.  To support this, the Local Authority had a block contract for 48 nursing home placements and a further contract with Mission Care for an additional 12 placements on a first refusal basis.  As it was not possible to predict the future demand for nursing home beds and there were times when all contracted beds were full, the Local Authority often had to spot-purchase additional nursing bed placements which had a significant cost implication and the potential to delay discharge from hospital.  To ensure sufficient availability of nursing home placements during Winter 2017/18, it was proposed to secure a maximum of 12 additional nursing home placements managed by the Local Authority for a nine month trial period.  These additional places would be allocated on the basis of a maximum stay of up to six weeks after which patients would either be ready to return home or to have a permanent placement identified.  To deliver this, it was recommended that the Local Authority vary an existing contract with Mission Care to purchase 12 additional places from 1^st July 2017 to ensure that sufficient capacity was in place by 1^st October 2017.  In addition, it was proposed that a Project Manager be recruited for a period of 12 months to oversee the implementation and management of the proposal to enable placements to be fully maximised and for the programme to be monitored and evaluated. 

In response to a question from a Member, the Programme Manager,  Commissioning confirmed that of the four care homes used by Mission Care to provide nursing home placements to the Local Authority, three had been rated as generally being ‘Good’, and one had an improvement plan in place with which the Local Authority was satisfied.  The Project Manager would monitor the quality of these nursing home placements as part of their role.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder for Care Services be recommended to:

1)  Agree to the variation of the existing nursing bed block contract with Mission Care for a period of 9 months commencing on 1^st July 2017;

2)  Approve a Project Manager post for 12 months to oversee the implementation and management of the proposal; and,

3)  Note that an update report will be provided to Care Services PDS Committee in January 2018, with the final evaluation reported in April 2018.