The Strategic Director for Adult Social Care will update the Committee on important news and announcements.
Minutes:
Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses:
Anne Butler, Assistant Director for Commissioning
Liz Uliasz, Senior Manager, Personal Care and Support
Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Committee was informed that the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care had been meeting with staff in workshops to update them on the refreshed priorities for 2013-17 and the requirements of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). Officers noted an encouraging response from practitioners. The Committee asked if there had been feedback on the kind of support that staff felt they may require, in particular whether there were appropriate ICT resources for remote working. It was confirmed that there was a program of work undertaken jointly with Human Resources to assist staff in identifying their support needs. Officers agreed to share the feedback from the workshops with the Committee once it had been collated.
2. It was outlined that there were two Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) planned: social care debt and hospital discharges. It was asked whether Members had the opportunity to input into the RIE process. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care explained that Members were advised of the RIEs taking place, and that they were encouraged to attend at the beginning of the RIE to understand and agree the briefing with officers. Once this was agreed they were then able to attend at the end of the RIE to be advised of the outcomes. It was agreed that details of the RIEs would be circulated to the Committee.
3. The Committee was informed that a review had been undertaken on out-of-county placements for users with learning disabilities. It was outlined that 535 placements were out of county, and that the reviews had now been conducted for all of them. The majority, with the exception of one, had been undertaken in person with the user in question. The feedback had been positive and the Committee was told that there had been no major safeguarding concerns.
4. Officers confirmed that the intention was now to complete a similar review process with out-of-county placements for users with physical disabilities. Members questioned whether there had been individuals identified that could be moved to placements within County. It was confirmed that a number had been identified and that the commissioning team would be working to meet those wishes.
5. The Committee asked why the Service was required to fund out-of-county placements when a user had opted to move voluntarily. It was clarified that there are funding responsibilities relating to out-of-county placements particularly for people in registered care. Officers asked the Committee to note that the arrangements between local authorities and the funding of out-of-county placements in general ‘balance out,’ as people from other local authorities also made use of services in Surrey.
6. The Committee noted that the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care is the Sponsor of the Surrey Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy and will examine the changing demographic pressures on Adult Social Care and how the workforce could be developed to meet this in the future.
Recommendations:
None.
Actions/further information to be provided:
· The Committee to receive details regarding the Rapid Improvement Events.
· The Committee to receive feedback from the Adult Social Care staff workshops.
Committee Next Steps:
None.