Agenda and minutes

Rotherham Carers Centre

Councillor Doyle gave an update in respect of the Carers Centre in Rotherham. 

He reported that it had been agreed at his delegated powers meeting on Monday 9^th November that the new centre would be situated on Drummond Street in the town centre.  It was in close proximity to other council offices within easy access of local transport links.  It also provided access for disabled people.

There would be a Carers Engagement Officer, a Carers Support Officer and a Public Support Officer housed within the centre offering a first class service for all carers.

National Networking Event for Health, Care and Wellbeing Scrutineers

The Chair announced that the National Event for Health, Care and Wellbeing for Scrutineers was to be held on Tuesday 24^th November 2009 at Thackray Museum in Leeds between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm.  There was one place still available and anyone interested should contact Delia Watts.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

There were no members of the public and press present at the meeting.

Tom Sweetman, Innovations Manager and Richard Waring, Direct Payments Manager gave a powerpoint presentation in relation to progress made in respect of Personalisation in Rotherham.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

• The story so far
• What’s it all about?
  • It’s about people
  • It’s about services
  • It’s about quality
  • It’s about partnerships

• Who benefits?
• It’s about vision
• What does it mean for Members?
• Key role for Members
• Where did the plan begin?
• Guiding Principles
• Positive Feedback
• Rotherham – National Praise
• The Plan
• Direct Payments
• Hot Off the Press
• The Way Ahead

A question and answer session ensued and the following issues were discussed:-

• How many more staff would be required to make personalisation viable and would it require additional budget?  It was confirmed that personalisation had been introduced to give a greater choice to customers but at no extra cost.  Therefore there would be no additional budget or staff required.
• A comment was made about relatives being employed under the direct payments scheme and it was queried whether this was a change in policy.  Confirmation was given that this would only be allowed in special circumstances and would be more the exception rather than the rule.
• It had been suggested in the presentation that personalisation would allow customers to live a more “normal” life.  A query was raised as to how this would be achieved in reality when most services were only available up to early evening.  It was confirmed that direct payments would allow a customer to employ a personal assistant who would work the hours to suit their needs.
• Concerns were raised that there were customers that preferred to use the more traditional services but would not be able to as a result of direct payments.  Assurance was given that this would not be the case, direct payments would allow customers a wider choice, which would include the more traditional services.
• A query was raised about the Social Care Reform Grant and what it had been used for.  The Director of Commissioning and Partnerships confirmed that it had been used in a variety of ways including, setting up direct payments, supporting services through re-commissioning, employing more social workers and setting up the many visioning days which had taken place.
• How other services could take up the personalisation agenda?  This would centre around demand for specific services such as transport and leisure services
• If services were tailored around the individual were there risks of
  • Not being able to benefit from economies of scale when commissioning services to get best value?
  • Services not being able to expand or forward plan because they had no long term contracts?

It was confirmed that personalisation was all about customers being able to choose the services they wanted and therefore services would have to change to accommodate this. 

·         A concern was raised as to how customers would be assisted with the legalities of employing staff ie personal assistants.  Confirmation was given that agencies were employed to assist with employment law and payroll services.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Lorraine Watson, Associate Director, Adult Services Rotherham Community Health Services gave a presentation in respect of the role of Rotherham Community Health Services.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

• Areas to be covered:
  • Split between NHS Rotherham and Rotherham Community Health Services
  • Overview of what Rotherham Community Health Services provide
  • Changes there were going to be
  • Value for money and high levels of service could be demonstrated.
• National Agenda/Background Information
• Rotherham PCT
• Rotherham Community Health Services – Adult Services
  • Services for Long Term Conditions
  • Acute Care in the Community
  • Health and Wellbeing and Reducing Inequalities
  • Rehabilitation services
  • End of life care

• Changes
• Transforming Community Services Programme
• Value for Money and High levels of Service demonstrated
• Commissioning Strategy – Better Community Services

A discussion took place around rehabilitation following strokes and whether this had been linked into the new services.  It was confirmed that access was given to the various tests when a patient arrived at hospital with symptoms of a stroke and rehabilitation was available for 6 months following discharge from hospital. 

Also it had been identified that there had been a gap in relation to rehabilitation for cardiac patients but this had now been rectified.

Reference was made to the split between NHS Rotherham and the Community Health Service and a query was raised as to whether this was a true split.  Confirmation was given that there was still a statutory link between the two organisations but in real terms they were working independently of each other.

Jackie Bickerstaffe, Head of Learning Disability Service gave a powerpoint presentation in respect of the Annual Report of the Joint Learning Disability Service.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

• The Learning Disability Service
• Partnership
• Staff
• Inspections
• Performance
• Finance
• Health
• Main Team Objectives
• 2009/10 Developments
• Achievements

The Chair commented that the NHS in-patient Assessment and Treatment Unit had 6% of bed occupancy taken up by other Authorities.  She asked what steps were taken to ensure that generating income in this way did not lead to lack of beds for local people when needed.  It was confirmed that it was the aim of the outreach service to reduce the number of admissions into hospital and to give care in the home.

Consideration was given to a report in respect of the progress of Performance Clinics into Joint Disability Equality Scheme (JDES).

At the Scrutiny Panel meeting on 4^th December 2008, the Panel expressed concern at the lack of progress being made in respect of the JDES.

An initial clinic was held on 18^th May 2009 with a follow up clinic being held on 30^th September 2009.  It transpired that there had been no single point of contact within the council on the JDES since March 2008.  The Community Engagement Cohesion Manager commented that responsibilities needed to be split between directorates with directorates and user groups communicating effectively.

The JDES contained numbers actions, grouped thematically within six ‘Strategic Aims’ in order to run and deliver services to improve the lives of disabled people. 

The Disability Network was to include representation of all groups including physically disabled, people with mental health problems, having learning disabilities, older and younger people and people from BME communities.

At the May performance clinic it was recognised that there had been a collapse of several important networks due to funding issues and there was still a need to re-establish the disability group of users and voluntary groups who would engage with officers.

Discussions had taken place regarding the Disability Network membership and a request had been made to view the database.  This had been refused due to data protection issues and the following suggestions were made as an alternative:-

• That the Council contact people direct to ask them if their details may be passed on
• NAS had its own database of user forums which was up to date
• That visitors to the Fair’s Fayre be added to the database and asked at the time if they were happy for their details to be shared.

It was confirmed that Voluntary Action Rotherham had the contract from the Council to manage the LINk (Local Involvement Network) which had an extensive membership which may be a way forward in terms of co-ordinating the work.

Another strategic aim was to set up a Centre for Inclusive Living in Rotherham and to work with other organisations to achieve this.

At the performance clinic in September there had been some discussion around this and it was suggested that an imaginative solution to this would be to include carers, advocacy and disabled people as part of the continued modernisation of social care.  Discussions were in progress about whether there needed to be an actual facility to accommodate this or whether it could be a virtual service.

It was suggested that the ongoing work in relation to the Centre for Independent Living be brought to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Panel.

The Scrutiny Officer reported that the next JDES meeting would be taking place on Wednesday 13^th January 2010 at 9.00 am at the Council Offices at Doncaster Gate and all partners would be invited to attend.

Resolved:- (1) That the Panel’s concern about lack of progress on the JDES  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

Consideration was given to a report which detailed the annual performance ratings for all NHS organisations in England.  These rates were evaluated on how effectively organisations manage their finances and the quality of their service.

Revolved:- That the performance of the local health trusts be noted.

Consideration was given to a report which summarised the findings of the Care Quality Commission Inspection of Adult Social Care focussing on Safeguarding Adults and Physical Disability and Sensory Impairment. 

Resolved:- That the findings of the Inspection be noted.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 1^st October 2009 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care held on 28^th September 2009 and 12^th October 2009 be received and noted.