Agenda and minutes

Churches Together

The Chair reported that a nomination was required for an elected member to sit on the Churches Together Group.  They met approximately every 6 weeks and their main role was to distribute collections from the crematorium to individuals or organisations in need.

Agreed:- That Councillor Jack be nominated to sit on the Churches Together Group.

South Yorkshire Health Scrutiny Committee

The Chair announced that a nomination was required for an elected member to attend a meeting of the South Yorkshire Health Scrutiny Committee at Sheffield Town Hall on 18^th March 2010 to discuss proposed service changes at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.  Expressions of interest should be made to Delia Watts, Scrutiny Officer.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

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

A themed meeting based on the following questions:  

·         How is your organisation equipped to meet the needs of dementia patients?

·         How do you work with other healthcare providers to ensure the best care for this group of patients?

Representatives from Rotherham's local health trusts will give presentations to answer the key questions above, with each presentation being followed by questions from Panel and LINk members.

-          Dominic Blaydon, Programme Manager – Long Term Conditions, NHS Rotherham

-          Jan Smith, Assistant Director, Older People’s Mental Health Services, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

-          Trisha Bain, Deputy Chief of Quality and Standards, Carol Lavelle, Project Lead, InterQual The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, Jane Chantler, Business and Service Manager HealthCare For Older People

-          Steve Page, Director of Standards and Compliance, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Consideration was given to the submitted report which explained the approach and background to a themed scrutiny meeting on Health Services provided to people with dementia.

In late November 2009, the Care Quality Commission issued guidance on Scrutiny’s involvement in the assessment of health and adult social care in 2009/10.  It gave a deadline for OSC comments relating to NHS providers of the end of January 2010.

The scope for making comments was very broad, but it had been decided to use services provided to people with dementia as a focus for discussion as it had recently been in the news (both locally and nationally) and would illustrate how well local health services were provided for vulnerable patients.

Representatives from the four local health trusts (NHS Rotherham, Rotherham Foundation Trust, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Yorkshire Ambulance Service) gave presentations that answered the following questions:

• How is your organisation equipped to meet the needs of dementia patients?
• How do you work with other healthcare providers to ensure the best care for this group of patients?

The first presentation was made by Dominic Blaydon, Programme Manager  - Long Term Conditions in respect of Older People’s Mental Health.  The presentation drew specific attention to:-

• Population profile
• OPMH profile
• Predicted service costs
• Investment profiled
• Summary of Strategy
• Reconfiguration and Investment
  • Memory Service
  • Mental Health Liaison
  • Dementia Care Service
  • Community Mental Health Team
  • Day Services

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

• What work was being undertaken in preparation for people under the age of 65 with dementia?  Confirmation was given that as part of the strategic development, the Young Onset Dementia Service had been set up
• Reference was made to a service which was available in parts of South Yorkshire in respect of memory prompts for people with dementia to remind them to take medication.  It was queried as to whether this was a service which Rotherham provided.  It was confirmed that Crossroads provided a medication management system to a limited number of people with dementia but it was not something which was provided across the borough.
• It was felt that it was imperative for people to remain active after retirement as statistics showed that people were prone to suffering from dementia once their mind becomes inactive.  It was agreed that work needed to be done to look at ways of reducing the likelihood of this occurring.
• How could members of the public refer someone whom they were concerned was suffering from dementia?  It was suggested that the first point of call would be to alert Social Services.

Jan Smith, Assistant Director, Older People’s Mental Health Services, RDASH gave a presentation in respect of Specialist Dementia Services.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

• National Dementia Strategy
• Dementia Specialist Services
  • Memory Clinic
  • Day Services
  • Liaison Services
  • Modernising Inpatient Care

·        Partnership working to implement the National Dementia Strategy

A question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and discussed:-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Consideration was given to the submitted report which sought ratification of the recommendations set out in the Strategic Review of Intermediate Care.  The review made recommendations on service reconfiguration which would improve current performance and strategic relevance.

Development of an Intermediate Care Hub

It was proposed that Day Care, Community Rehabilitation and Residential Teams were merged and co-located.  A new multi-disciplinary health and social care team would be set up to support service users through the intermediate care pathway.  The service would adopt the Common Framework Assessment and deliver integrated health and social care plans.

Millennium would become a dedicated hub for intermediate care services in Rotherham providing day rehabilitation, a Single Point of Access and a focal point for all service delivery.  There were significant benefits to this service model.  It would establish a clear service identity with a range of services being delivered from the same site.  Co-location of staff would facilitate effective communication and peer support and greater integration would improve efficiency and help develop a person centred approach to rehabilitation.

The Strategic review recommended that a programme of refurbishment was carried out on Millennium to make it fit-for-purpose.  It proposed that capital grant was transferred from the NHS Rotherham Optional Plan to Rotherham MBC to pay for the necessary works.

Reconfiguration of the Residential Service 

It was proposed that Rothwel Grange be decommissioned as an intermediate care facility and that a new residential unit be developed at one of the new local authority residential units. The plan was to convert one wing of 15 beds into intermediate care provision by December 2009.  This was dependent on vacancies becoming available during this timeframe.  Vacancies were being held at present, and used for respite provision, in order to maintain bed occupancy.

The new-build homes were fully compliant with National Care Standards and the Disability Discrimination Act.  Bedroom sizes were spacious, en-suite facilities were provided, doorways and corridors had been widened for the use of disability and bariatric equipment. There was also ramped access to the building.

            It was proposed that Fast Response beds were decommissioned and that the savings made were reinvested to improve performance, outcomes and quality elsewhere in the service. There were a number of reasons why it was appropriate to decommission the service:

·        The unit cost per patient was prohibitive.

·        There was capacity in the intermediate care residential units to fill the gap left by loss of beds

·        The intermediate care residential units could meet the needs of people referred into the service

·        Reducing bed capacity would help improve performance on bed occupancy across the service

·        Decommissioning would release savings that could be reinvested

Millennium Day Rehabilitation Service

It was proposed that the maintenance service be reconfigured so that it delivered time-limited rehabilitation and community integration programmes. The service would continue to provide day care services to current service users for up to 6 months. There were also 4 service users who originally attended the Crinoline House day centre in 1998.  Upon closure of this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 12^th November 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 26^th October 2009, 9^th and 23^rd November 2009 and 7^th December 2009 be noted and received.