Agenda item

Report ACH20-044

The Committee considered a report providing a refresh of the Adult Care and Health Portfolio Plan for 2020-21, and the update for Quarter 1.

The Adult Care and Health Portfolio Plan 2018 to 2022 had been refreshed for 2020/21 in line with the Council’s Transformation Programme and Building a Better Bromley Plan.The Plan continued to focus on four priority outcomes:

·  Safeguarding;

·  Life chances, resilience and wellbeing;

·  Integrated health and social care; and

·  Ensuring efficiency and effectiveness

Within each priority there were a number of statements which were underpinned by actions and measures of success within the work of Adult Care and Health Services. Progress had been made on the majority of the actions within the refreshed Portfolio Plan. The impact of COVID-19 had seen new ways of working in partnership with health partners and these positive changes were being evaluated and incorporated into ways of working and future plans. Some re-commissioning of services had been delayed, however the adjustment in timescales had been minimised as much as possible.

In response to a question from a Co-opted Member, relating to the establishment of a Learning Disability Partnership Board, the Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation confirmed that service users would be represented in the membership.

The Co-opted Member noted the reference made to ‘developing evidence-based commissioning programmes’ for a number of services and questioned what evidence would be used, and how would it be measured. The Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation advised that there were demand measures from service users already accessing these packages, in terms of what was being delivered and how much it was being utilised. As the borough was subject to significant growth pressure, other evidence used was a range of data relating to the awareness of the Local Authority and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as national data sets which provided an understanding of the baseline demand. This ensured thoughtful understanding of the demand pressures that services would face, and that the right amount of services were commissioned.

In response to a question from a Co-opted Member, the Director of Adult Social Care advised that information relating to the quality standards across Adult Social Care could be shared with the Committee. A Practice Advisory Group, with staff from across the service, had recently been established. Work would be undertaken to gather their experiences of what made a difference to the lives of individuals with whom they worked. The standards focussed on areas such as how it made a difference to an individual; the outcomes they identified for themselves to achieve; if referrals were being dealt with in a timely manner; and if reviews were being picked up when required.

A Member noted that the end date of the Portfolio Plan was April 2022 and enquired if any actions had needed to be reconsidered, or caught up on, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Director of Adult Social Care said it was actually the opposite, as they had got through some of the hurdles of implementing change a lot quicker than had been anticipated, such as integrating services and the use of new technology. Areas of transformation had therefore been sped up – this would be built into plans going forward and timescales would also be revised.

In response to a question, the Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation clarified that due to the closure of the Adult Education centres, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to the courses had been provided online. Therefore adults from disadvantaged communities had been able to use the provision, subject to them having digital access.

A Member welcomed the references made to Public Health on page 40 of the agenda pack. However it was questioned how a portfolio of Public Health programmes would be commissioned by April 2022, in light of the Public Health Grant being cut and the additional pressures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Director of Adult Social Care advised that the Director of Public Health was working hard to prioritise areas of maximum impact, as well as to try and balance the additional demands. It was agreed that the Director of Public Health would be asked to provide a response to this question.

A Member asked for further information regarding the analysis of the impact that COVID-19 had on the Adult Services Performance Framework, and if the document, or summary of it, could be shared with the Committee. The Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation advised that this had been a thoughtful piece of work, which had been undertaken at the end of the first wave. Data was obtained from health colleagues relating to all hospital discharges over a three-month period. Around 3,500 residents were in hospital during this time, and the Single Point of Assessment (SPA) allowed them to all be assessed at the point of discharge to decide their onward pathway. This information had been analysed to provide an understanding of what happened to each resident, and the services they received. After the first six weeks of support packages, further analysis took place looking at the reablement outcomes for those residents that went on to receive further support, and the financial impact on the Local Authority. The Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation informed Members that around 51% of residents that received domiciliary care packages did not regain their independence in the initial response which highlighted the impact on the COVID-19 pandemic and the long term implications to Adult Social Care. When analysing the data, it had also become apparent that around 60% of those residents that were provided with domiciliary care packages had not previously been known to the Local Authority, and therefore there were a number of new demands and pressures on Adult Care service areas. This information had helped inform commissioning of the SPA and influence the support provided during the second wave of the pandemic.

A Member noted that page 52 of the agenda pack referred to ‘Integrated services 0-25’ and highlighted that with just six months left until the target date of April 2021, the project still remained at the scoping stage. The Director of Adult Social Care advised that this was being led by the Director of Children’s Services, and although they would be working jointly on this project, the early scoping work would be carried out by the Children’s Services department. The Director of Children’s Services was in the process of putting a team together, and despite some work having been held up, an advert was currently out for a lead to take this project forward.

In response to a question, the Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation advised that the Learning Disabilities Strategy referenced on page 54 of the agenda pack would be brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

A Member noted the reference made in the report to an Adult Social Care Survey which had taken place at the beginning of the year and asked if a breakdown of the results could be provided. The Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Corporate Transformation advised that this was a statutory survey carried out by every borough. They were currently awaiting benchmarking data to allow comparison with other boroughs, but once this was received a summary of the findings could be circulated to Committee Members.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.