Minutes:
The Director of Adult Social Care gave an update to Members on work being undertaken across the Adult Social Care department.
Following what had been an extremely busy Christmas period at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH), which had caused a knock-on effect to a number of teams, the Director of Adult Social Care acknowledged and thanked the staff for their work to keep the system moving. In response to a question, the Director of Adult Social Care confirmed that the Winter Plan had been robust, and had worked well, but hospitals across the country had been extremely busy with very high volumes of patients.
A Member noted that many residents may not have been aware of the out of hours GP services, as they had not been well publicised. The Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Health advised that the CCG were aware of this issue, and were working on how to best publicise the service in the future.
The Transformation Programme was progressing well, and an update report would be brought to a future meeting of the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee. The Director of Adult Social Care noted the enthusiasm of staff as work continued on the detailed thinking behind the programmes.
One of the priorities for the Department had been to reduce the number of agency staff, and the Director of Adult Social Care was pleased to inform the Committee that the number of permanent staff had increased from 50% the previous year, to 77%. There were two teams, Deprivation of Liberty and Transfer of Care Bureau, who had historically used agency staff, but a decision had now been made to recruit to posts, which would hopefully deliver further savings.
A piece of work on Market Sustainability would be undertaken. This would look at the viability and sustainability of the market and whether placements were LBB or privately funded. It was noted that a report looking at how market sustainability could be built-in would be brought to a future meeting of the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee. A Member noted they were aware that following an options appraisal, a Bromley Care Home would not be going ahead, and asked what would happen to the funding set aside in the Improved Better Care Fund (iBCF), and if an alternative provision of beds had been identified. The Director of Adult Social Care said that the money would be kept within Adult Social Care, and would be used to off-set other pressures. As part of a draft Market Position Statement, colleagues were already in the process of talking to providers regarding the number of beds.
In response to a question relating to the Wake Up 2 Care initiative, the Director of Adult Social Care said that the provider-focused scheme had been piloted this year, led by colleagues in HR. Work had been undertaken with Care Homes and care providers, to attract new staff into the sector. The scheme would now be reviewed, and the Director of Adult Social Care was aware that they would like the scheme to be expanded.
The Director of Adult Social Care introduced the new Head of Service for Learning Disabilities. It was noted that this role would also include work relating to the Shared Lives service. The Chairman suggested that the Head of Service for Learning Disabilities may wish to present a report to a future meeting of the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee, providing an update on the work undertaken by the team.
RESOLVED that the update be noted.