Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report informing and updating Members of the Policy Development and Scrutiny committee on the work of the Supporting Independence in Bromley Programme.

The Director of Adult and Community Services (ACS) provided a brief overview of the programme and explained to Members that the Local Authority was currently two years into the national programme.  The Director explained that current indications were that the new government would continue with the programme. 

The Programme Manager, Supporting Independence in Bromley, presented an overview of the Supporting Independence in Bromley Programme, highlighting the main principles and aims of the programme and the benefits that it was envisaged that the programme would deliver.

Following the presentation the Committee considered the development of the programme and a Co-opted Member underlined the tremendous progress that had been made.  The Co-opted Member highlighted that three or four years prior, an excellent consultation had been undertaken regarding the provision of day centres and services for adults with learning disabilities, but noted that no action had since been taken.  Richard Lane reported that the Learning Disability Forum had expressed concern that real choice did not exist in terms of day service provision, and Mr Lane questioned whether this area needed further development.  The Director ACS suggested that this issue be considered in more detail at a future meeting of the Committee. 

The Committee was informed that there was a range of day activities available for adults with learning disabilities but that there was still more work to be done.  The Director ACS highlighted that the Thyme Out project had been very successful in supporting people with learning disabilities to deliver the grounds maintenance service across Bromley’s Civic Centre site, and noted that there was a range of other activities available for adults including work that was being undertaken with Bromley Adult Education.  The Director acknowledged that some unresolved issues remained and there were some aspects of the provision that had not been completed.

The Chairman reported that Members had expressed some concern about the way information was captured around the way adults spent their time and suggested that this issue be added to the Committee’s work programme.

A Member highlighted that the report stated that an expansion of the numbers of staff undertaking re-ablement work was required and the Member questioned whether this was a role for homecare staff and whether in future there would be fewer in house homecare staff.  The Director ACS clarified that re ablement opportunities were being made available to the highly skilled homecare staff and that there were a number of people who wanted to be re ablement facilitators. It was acknowledged that as more people take up re ablement services this would impact on the level and type of domiciliary services required in future. 

Another Member questioned how the success of the programme was being measured and how Officers were adopting best practice from other local authorities.  The Programme Manager for Supporting Independence in Bromley reported that a performance framework had been put in place and this was the way in which the success of the programme was measured.  The Member was also reminded that if it was identified that a service user did not require ongoing support, re-ablement was considered to be a success. In terms of learning best practice from other authorities, the Programme Manager explained that she attended regular sector meetings where information was shared amongst colleagues from other authorities.  In addition to this there was regular reporting to national agencies regarding the use of the grant funding. 

The Committee considered the eligibility criteria for the scheme.  Members stressed that the majority of older people in the Borough were not eligible to receive the service for free.  Concern was expressed that a high proportion of resources were focused on a small minority of people and it was suggested that Maureen Falloon from Age Concern Bromley be invited to a future meeting to provide an update on the care brokerage service. 

Another Member asked how residents would be able to access the information they needed as part of supporting their independence, other than utilising the internet site that was being developed.  Officers explained that there were a number of options available for accessing information, and that these included GPs surgeries, the centre at Cotmandene and local libraries.  It was hoped that staff in libraries would be trained with the necessary skills to provide support to people looking for information on the website.  The Programme Manager told the Committee that other avenues for making the service more accessible were also  currently being explored.

Leslie Marks reported to the Committee that Bromley Council on Ageing were hoping to have a session focusing on assistive technology and that this session would provide opportunities for people to try the equipment available.  The Committee was reminded that the voluntary sector could be useful in both promoting the services available and providing avenues to access the services..

The Committee considered the issue of how self-funders could re-able themselves, and the Director ACS reported that this was something that was being considered and reviewed for the future.  The Director ACS stressed that this would need further analysis to ensure any future system would be sustainable.  It was agreed that a further update on this issue would be added to the Committee’s work programme for February or March 2011.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to endorse the further development of the re-ablement and assessment service as a mainstream service available to all people who are eligible for social care at the point of referral.