Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Dr Angela Bahn.  Councillor Fookes attended as alternate to Councillor Roberts.

The Chairman also welcomed Angela Clayton-Turner as a Cooptee to the Adult and Community Services PDS Committee representing the Bromley Mental Health Forum.

Councillor Carole Hubbard declared a personal interest as an employee of Bromley PCT.  Councillor Carole Hubbard also declared an interest as a Trustee of Age Concern Bromley and the President of Alzheimer’s Bromley, White Gables.  Councillor Brenda Thompson declared a personal interest as her daughter worked for Bromley Mind.  Councillor Brenda Thompson also declared an interest as the Chairman of Bromley Mental Health Forum.  Councillor Roger Charsley declared an interest as a Member of Bromley Autistic Trust.

To hear questions to the Committee received in writing by the Legal, Democratic and Customer Services Department by 5pm on Thursday 11^th February 2010 and to respond.

A series of written questions were received from Mr Armstrong, attached at Appendix A to the minutes.  The Lead Inspector agreed to meet with Mr Armstrong to discuss the points raised.  Mr Armstrong was invited to attend meetings of the Adult and Community Services PDS Committee as a member of the public to contribute to future scrutiny of issues arising from the Inspection, and also to contact the LINk with any comments he might have.

Report ACS10004

The Lead Inspector of the CQC Inspection, Tim Willis outlined the outcome of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of Adult Social Care carried out in August 2009, which focused on Adult Safeguarding and Choice and Control for older people.

Mr Willis thanked all those who had been involved in the inspection process, and outlined the aims of the inspection team, which was to undertake an in-depth and intensive inspection that would add value to the existing provision of the Council and examine the processes that supported service delivery.

In terms of Adult Safeguarding, the inspection had identified how Bromley Council was working to deliver more individual, personalised and universal care to care users.  Evidence had been gathered from a range of sources, including officers, front line staff, partner agencies, carers and service users. 

The Inspection Team recognised developments that the Council and its partners had made in safeguarding and the increasingly effective delivery of multi disciplinary support for vulnerable people.  Incidences of good practice were also highlighted and a range of areas where further work could be undertaken were identified.  A need for greater focus on providing a more holistic approach to care planning and in identifying the aspirations of service users was underlined within the inspection report.  It was noted that a sound strategic vision and strong processes were in place to increase Choice and Control for older people, and that this was supported by robust performance information. 

In response, the Director of Adult and Community Services acknowledged the work that had gone into supporting the Inspection process and highlighted the Council’s commitment to ensuring its service provision was part of an ongoing process of continual improvement and development.  Whilst the inspection had provided only a ‘snapshot’ of current provision, it was important to utilise the recommendations as a tool to support the continuous improvement agenda.  The improvement plan had been developed to deliver on these recommendations.  The Director of Adult and Community Services highlighted the work of the Adult and Community Services PDS Committee in working to improve delivery of Adult Safeguarding in recent years.  The improvement plan included a range of measures to support Adult Safeguarding, and a number of action points had already been achieved.

With regard to the choice and control for older people, the Supporting Independence Programme had specifically been designed to deliver the “Putting People First” protocol with significant progress being made around listening and engaging with people.  A number of actions had been taken since August 2009 to implement measures ensuring that choice and control was delivered to service users across the Borough.

Disappointment was expressed that the service provision across both Adult Safeguarding and Choice and Control for older people had been rated as 'adequate', particularly against a backdrop of such wide-ranging service provision, but was pleased to note the report had acknowledged the ability of the Service to build on current service provision.  Steady progress had already been made in a number of areas, which would support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.