Agenda item

This report details the areas covered by the Portfolio Holder for Adults’ Services which fall within the remit of this Committee.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress on the areas of work within the terms of reference of this Committee and covered by the Portfolio Holder for Adults’ Services, Councillor Brake, as set out below:

• Community Care
• Adults’ Mental Health and Disability Services (including Learning and Physical Disabilities)
• Older People
• Public Health – Lead Member, including Health and Wellbeing Boards
• Adults’ Partnership Commissioning (25+) and Better Care Fund
• Health and Health Partnerships

Councillor Brake responded to Members’ questions and comments as follows:

·       Shared Lives Case Study – in response to a question about the future of the scheme, Councillor Brake commented on the importance of the people in the scheme being compatible. Each case was different and in the unlikely event of a problem the Council would quickly make adjustments. The Assistant Director – Adult Social Care added that the Shared Lives scheme was there partly to teach individuals to live independently and the training needs of carers was monitored carefully by social workers. This would also apply in the case of the individuals mentioned in the case study.

·       Mental Health Community Support/147 Nelson Road – with regard to progress in developing the service, the Portfolio Holder commented that the service was looking at reaching out further into communities who had not yet accessed the service and expand, and this included looking at using existing community facilities.

·       Public Health Annual Report – noting that Covid-19 had affected communities most who experienced higher levels of inequalities, the point was made that the Council should ensure that public health resources were directed at these communities to improve their resilience and lessen health inequalities. The Portfolio Holder replied that this year’s Annual Report would focus on inequalities and he would discuss the suggestion with the Director of Public Health.  The Director of People - Children and Adults Services added that the Director of Public Health had been asked to lead on regional work to look at the impact of Covid-19 on the BAME community.

·       Deaf Services – the effectiveness of the transition to adulthood where this was a long-term condition was questioned and Members were advised that children with a sensory disability would have an Education Health and Care Plan which would contain a transition plan.

·       Stop Smoking service – the Portfolio Holder was asked at what stage a person who had stopped smoking was recorded by Public Health as a successful intervention and he advised that stopping smoking for two months was deemed to be a successful intervention, but support was still available.

·       24 Hour Care Home Model – the extent to which Covid-19 had impacted on this service was questioned. The Portfolio Holder replied this had started in January 2020 and continued to be provided, although it was important to protect before staff and people in receipt of care. There were various means to identify people who were in an emergency situation.

·       Adult Carers Strategy –  in response to a question about the 1,523 adult carers referred to and whether this just related to adults who cared for other adults was questioned. The Assistant Director – Adult Services commented that most carers were over 18 but the figures could be provided.

·       Shared Lives Service – in terms of how comparable the administrative workloads were between this Service and the Fostering Service, the Portfolio Holder commented that they were broadly similar.

·       Discharges from hospital – how the Homecare Bridging Service, the Discharge to Assess Pilot and the 24-Hour Care at Home Model worked together strategically was queried and the numbers of early hospital discharges were requested in order to gauge the success of these programmes. The Portfolio Holder commented that Covid-19 had led these three programmes to work together. Adult Social Care and the hospital were working closely together to signpost people who needed support and ensure they received the most appropriate care. Covid-19 had resulted in a greater need for hospital beds to be made free as quickly as possible. The discharge team would assess whether a patient could be transferred to a nursing home, where they were cared for. The Integrated Discharge Team worked closely with other teams when a patient was returned home from hospital.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to:

a)      thank the Portfolio Holder for his attendance and noted the report.

b)      request the figures on hospital discharges and re-admissions in order to gauge the success of the Homecare Bridging Service, the Discharge to Assess Pilot and the 24-Hour Care at Home Model.

(In accordance with Council Rule 12.6, Councillors Adeoye, Murray and Price asked that their votes in favour be recorded.)