Issue - meetings

Background

Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health had overseen the development of “Getting Better Together”, the Adult Social Care Strategy for Medway. It articulated a vision for the development of adult social care in Medway over a four year period, based on six strategic priorities – Prevention, Personalisation, Partnership, Integration, Innovation and Safeguarding.

The primary aim of the strategy was to prevent and reduce social need by providing effective support so that citizens could maintain their independence. Wherever possible and appropriate Medway Council would support citizens with eligible social care needs to remain in, or return to, their own home, so that they could maintain important relationships with family and friends, and continue to actively be a part of their own community.

The report described the leadership and governance arrangements which would be overseen by the Adult Social Care Improvement Board. This included the development of an improvement programme which would deliver pathway and service re-design. The strategy would be underpinned by effective performance management, strengthened commissioning, and improved partnership working with all key stakeholders.

The draft Strategy had been considered by both the Health and Adult Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Health and Wellbeing Board on 21 June 2016 and 29 June 2016 respectively.  Both bodies broadly welcomed the Strategy and recommended that the Cabinet approve the Strategy.  Concerns were raised over ensuring that the document was easily accessible to all stakeholders which the Portfolio Holder had committed to provide.  Engagement was also a matter that both bodies had expressed concern over and they had both been reassured that there would be a significant programme of engagement on the Strategy and its delivery plan between July and September 2016.

A draft, interim Diversity Impact Assessment had been carried out on the Strategy, as set out in Appendix 4 to the report.

Reasons:

Approval of the Strategy would enable the Council to articulate its vision for

social care and support in Medway and set the strategic direction which would

underpin a programme of improvement for adult social care over the period

2016 – 2020.