Minutes:
The Director of Adult Social Care gave an update to Members on work being undertaken across the Adult Social Care department.
The Director of Adult Social Care advised that there were a number of issues that needed to be brought to Members’ attention, which largely related to items on the agenda.
At the last meeting it was reported that the Assistant Director for Safeguarding, Practice and Provider Relations team had moved into the new offices at Churchill Court – the team had settled in well and were really appreciating being in new, shared surroundings. Better team working was being reported, and the ease of communication meant less need for formal meetings and a real sense of how good it was to work in modern and pleasant surroundings.
Members were advised that preparation for the CQC Assurance visit continued. They were gradually working through those areas identified as needing more attention and were gaining confidence in their preparation. Whilst this had flagged some areas for attention, it was important that they had an honest appraisal of the current position and the work they need to do. Work was continuing on reviewing the hospital discharge arrangements; work to better support carers; use of technology and they were moving on to reviewing the work around Safeguarding practice.
The first phase of work with the Social Care Institute for Excellence had concluded and they were working up a bid for some internal transformation funding to move onto the next steps with the programme. This had been an exciting piece of work, funded by grant funding from government – the next stage would require some internal funding, but delivered efficiencies both in terms of cost and capacity. It was noted that this could be reported on at the next meeting.
The Director of Adult Social Care advised that their continued to be a number of challenges related to obtaining care at an affordable rate to the Council, which was shown in the later budget report. Whilst it was acknowledged that costs had risen, the Council had invested significantly in the increased fees paid for care, but providers were still requesting more. They were working on a detailed report to present to the Portfolio Holder, Chief Executive and Director of Finance to quantify this and present options for managing this, in the event that further money was not made available by central government. It was highlighted that this was not just a Bromley issue.
The department were working to develop robust efficiency options for the financial year 2024/25 and onwards, and these would be presented in detail at the next meeting. However, to give members some headlines, they were currently considering the following areas for exploration (total options circa £1.8m):
- Strategic Needs assessment of Supported Housing offer;
- Extend Extra Care Housing offer;
- Direct Payment in place of Discharge to Assess Funding;
- Reduction in Agency Staffing spend;
- Digital Transformation - CareLink, Self-Assessment, Online information and advice;
- Enhanced Domiciliary Care offer;
- Review of Ordinary Residence application;
- Use of Disabled Facilities Grant
- Enhanced Reablement offer to reduce ongoing need; and,
- Better use/evidence of prevention.
The Director of Adult Social Care noted that there was an urgent report to be discussed in the closed section of the agenda.
RESOLVED that the update be noted.