The Strategic Director for Adult Social Care will update the Committee on important news and announcements.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Dave Sargeant, Strategic Director for Adult Social Care
Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
Steve Cosser, Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care
Declarations of interest: None
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Strategic Director wished to discuss four items in his update. Firstly, Surrey’s Better Care Fund (BCF) plan has been completed and is ready for submission to the Department of Health. The Governance of the Fund has also been signed off and the Director noted that the relationships between the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are much stronger now especially in the west where an information sharing pilot has been launched. However, the Director cautioned that risks remain around the management of the £25m fund for the protection of social care.
2. Regarding the Care Act, the Director advised that the government guidance has been reassuring but that there is a lot of detail to work through especially around fees and charging. The Directorate’s fees and charging policy proposal has been approved by the Cabinet and is now out for consultation. Training events for frontline staff on the duties of the Care Act are being finalised. More work is being undertaken on the new social care duties for prisoners; extra capacity has been facilitated by Care Act funding included in the BCF. The Director wants to involve other agencies in this work and not simply add more work to frontline social care staff.
3. The consultation on the future of the six older people’s care homes has been extended until January 31 to allow for more conversations with individual families and members of staff. As a result the Cabinet paper will now be considered in March 2015. Members asked whether the Directorate is working closely with carers and other stakeholders. The Director reassured the Committee that he regularly meets both formally and informally with stakeholders and that the feedback on the service is good but that the consultation is about the environment for care and staffing which are not sustainable. Ultimately, the profile of service users has changed but the buildings’ capabilities have not which risks future non-compliance with the CQC’s inspection framework.
4. Members queried if there was capacity to accommodate current residents of these homes if they need to be moved. The Director advised that there is no deficit in capacity in Surrey and that a local solution would be followed meaning that service users would, hopefully, be placed within five miles of their current residence.
5. The Director then discussed the realignment of senior staff advising that it is now 90% complete. The final phase is to recruit into the newly created posts. Members queried the levels of vacancies in the Directorate more widely, the Director stated that he was not complacent and that there are hotspots in the county, for example in Surrey Heath due to maternity leave and Mole Valley, an area that has historically faced recruitment problems, but overall the situation has improved.
Recommendations:
· That communications regarding the rationale for considering the future of the older people’s homes are delivered consistently.
Actions/further information to be provided:
· The Strategic Director provides up to date information on the level of vacancies currently held in the Directorate.
Committee next steps:
· The Committee will add an item on the delivery of new social care duties for prisoners to its forward work plan.