Issue - meetings

1.         That the progress made towards the integration of health and social care, particularly in North East Hampshire and Farnham and Surrey Heath CCG areas be noted.

2.         That the development of frameworks to support integration, such as pooled budgets or the development of separate integrated care organisations, be approved.

3.       That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Adult Social Care Wellbeing and Independence, the Director of Public Health and the Director of Finance, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Wellbeing and Independence, to approve pooled budget agreements for the integration of health and social care.

Reasons for Decisions:

The approach to integration proposed will support the provision of better outcomes to Surrey residents at less cost and enable the council to better influence and control the source of demand for social care services.

The proposals further work towards expanding pooled budgets beyond those currently within the remit of the Better Care Fund under Section 75 agreements. Including more Adult Social Care and NHS funding, with agreement on shared risks, will ensure we are jointly focusing on reducing the increasing demands on our services.

‘Fast-tracking’ two areas will provide learning for the rest of the County and support the local approach of the right pace and form for each area dependent on needs and context.

The models and degrees of integration available are varied and range between, for example, co-location, joint commissioning arrangements, one accountable organisation as a  lead commissioner, pooled budgets and the creation of a separate integrated care organisation. All key decisions required in the progress to integration will follow the County Council’s due process, and where required will be reported back or brought to the Cabinet for decision. 

Pursuing opportunities for further integration will help to ensure the County Council

meets its statutory duties, set out in both the Care Act 2014 and the Health and

Social Care Act 2012, for encouraging and promoting the integration of health and

social care.

[The decision on this item may be called in by the Social Care Services Scrutiny Board or the Wellbeing and Health Scrutiny Board]

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Health said that this report provided a synopsis of the move towards integrated services which had been accelerated in health and social care by the introduction of the Better Care Fund. This was a key strategy for Surrey’s Adult Social Care service to manage increasing demand.

She said that, due to differing contexts and local needs across the six Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) areas in Surrey, the speed and form of integration was not identical in each area and this report provided the Cabinet with an updated position and requested approval for the direction of travel including the ‘fast-track’ approach in two of the CCG areas.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Independence agreed that this was an important report which set out the future strategy for integration going forward. He drew attention to the Financial and Value for Money implications, as set out in the report, and said that it was important that funds were only pooled for services that would be directly impacted by integration plans and also that it was equally important that there was a clear agreement on how financial risks were shared.

The Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement was pleased to report that the Woking Community Hub would be opening on 16 December 2015 and that she hoped that it would alleviate pressure for services at St Peter’s hospital.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the progress made towards the integration of health and social care, particularly in North East Hampshire and Farnham and Surrey Heath CCG areas be noted.

2.         That the development of frameworks to support integration, such as pooled budgets or the development of separate integrated care organisations, be approved.

3.       That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Adult Social Care Wellbeing and Independence, the Director of Public Health and the Director of Finance, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Wellbeing and Independence, to approve pooled budget agreements for the integration of health and social care.

Reasons for Decisions:

The approach to integration proposed will support the provision of better outcomes to Surrey residents at less cost and enable the council to better influence and control the source of demand for social care services.

The proposals further work towards expanding pooled budgets beyond those currently within the remit of the Better Care Fund under Section 75 agreements. Including more Adult Social Care and NHS funding, with agreement on shared risks, will ensure we are jointly focusing on reducing the increasing demands on our services.

‘Fast-tracking’ two areas will provide learning for the rest of the County and support the local approach of the right pace and form for each area dependent on needs and context.

The models and degrees of integration available are varied and range between, for example, co-location, joint commissioning arrangements, one accountable organisation as a  lead commissioner, pooled budgets and the creation of a separate integrated care organisation. All key decisions required in the progress  ...  view the full minutes text for item 232