Agenda and minutes

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care held on 28^th June 2010.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28^th June 2010 be approved as a correct record.

Shona McFarlane, Director of Health and Wellbeing presented the submitted report in respect of the Safeguarding Adults Annual Report.

She referred to the achievements and contributions in 2009/10 which were:-

• We have increased the level of awareness and alerts by 22% to 689
• Increased overall awareness by 19%
• 95% of customers are satisfied our services helped them to feel safe
• 100% of customers feel safer as a result of safeguarding intervention
• Completed 83% of cases in year, increased from 78.2%, with 37 ongoing cases into 2010/2011
• Implemented innovative ways in engaging with customers
• Second phase of ‘Home from Home’ is improving standards increasing the number of homes rated ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’
• One of the first Safeguarding Adults Boards in the country to have a Multi Agency Training and Development Programme – ‘Bronze to Platinum’  which has already trained over 5000 Council and partner staff in safeguarding awareness
• a strengthened Quality Assurance framework was in place
• We have further reduced crime by 13%

The work on ‘Home from Home’ had received regional and national recognition.  Regionally it was nominated for a Great British Care Award and nationally the Care Quality Commission approached us to help respond to a report published in March 2009 by Care Equation on roles and responsibilities in promoting improvement in adult social care services. 

The Safeguarding Adults Service Plan Priority Actions for 2010/2011 were to:-

Promote

• Undertake an annual multi agency Safeguarding Adults Awareness campaign

Prevent

• Implement the 2010/2011 ‘Bronze to Platinum’  training programme across the Council, key partners and independent providers
• Learn from the outcomes of Serious Case Reviews, Quality Assurance findings and the Care Quality Commission inspection
• Develop a universal service review format for all personalised care and support services using the principles of ‘Home from Home’ to improve outcomes relating to Dignity and Respect for customers and their families
• Work with the Care Quality Commission to improve information sharing at a local level, regional and national level.

Protect

• Review, strengthen and implement the area specific guidance section of the South Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Procedures
• Audit the implementation and embedding of the Mental Capacity Act (including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) with the Local Authority and commissioned social care services.

The timetable for consultation and publication was that the report be presented to the Rotherham Safeguarding Adults Board on the 14^th July 2010, and then published to all Partner agencies represented at the Rotherham Safeguarding Board and on the Council website.  Safeguarding Adults Awareness week 2010 was to be held 12^th to 16^th July 2010 and it was envisaged that the report would be ready for publication the week commencing 19^th July on the back of the heightened awareness of the previous week.

The report would then be presented to the Adult Services and Health Scrutiny Panel on 9^th September 2010.

Resolved:- That the Safeguarding Adults Annual Report 2009-2010 be approved for publication and presentation at:

• Safeguarding Adults Board on 14^th July 2010
• Adult Services and Health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Chrissy Wright, Director of Commissioning and Partnership which gave an update on the progress towards achieving the Department of Health’s “Transforming Community Services” agenda in Rotherham.

The aims of the Transforming Community Services paper were:

• To effect the internal separation between PCTs as commissioners and PCTs as providers
• To bring about a step change improvement in community services
• To ensure PC provider units were business ready to make that step change

In Rotherham the ‘split’ between commissioning a provider services had already happened.  The PCT was now NHSR – commissioning organisation and Rotherham Community Health Services (RCHS) provider organisation.

The Department of Health had established a timetable for implementation of a clear separation between the commissioning and provider functions and during 2010 the NHSR must develop an implementation plan for each of the services.  This work was ongoing and in Rotherham it is known as ‘Shaping the Future’.

The implementation of Shaping our Future would lead to changes in the Rotherham provider landscape and NHS Rotherham would cease to have a provider arm and Rotherham Community Health Services (RCHS) would cease to exist. RCHS would be replaced with new arrangements as part of an overall plan for the future shape of the NHS in Rotherham. The new arrangements must protect and improve services for patients and the wider community and must protect, wherever possible, the interests of staff.

A Programme Board had been set up to oversee the consultation process and transfer of services to other providers. A number of project groups reporting to the Programme Board had been established to look at specific areas of the work and each group was chaired by an NHS Rotherham executive director and there was representation from NAS at the Programme Board and in the appropriate project boards.

The project groups were:

• Children and young people
• Planned care and long-term conditions
• Mental health and learning disabilities
• Palliative and end of life care
• Workforce

The proposals in detail were:

• General Practices

RCHS manages three small GP practices. All other GPs in Rotherham are independent contractors. The proposal was to invite the patients at the Rosehill Medical Centre to register with other GPs. Consideration would be given to the “right to request” from managers and staff at the Canklow and Gate surgeries to set up a social enterprise, and if this was not successful NHSR would procure a new provider for these surgeries.

• Children’s Services

      RCHS provides a range of children’s services including health visiting and school nursing, specialist nursing services, and mental health services. The proposal was to transfer these services to the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. Consideration would be given to whether it would be best to transfer child and adolescent mental health services to the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

• Staying Healthy Services

      RCHS currently runs the Rotherham NHS Stop Smoking Service. The proposal was to transfer this service to the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.

      RCHS provides  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 (as amended March 2006) of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Resolved:- That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Kirsty Everson, Director of Independent Living presented the submitted report in respect of the Rothercare Charging Policy.

Rothercare is the Council’s alarm and response service provided by Neighbourhoods and Adult Services to help vulnerable people live safely in their own home.  It is one element of the overall Rothercare Direct service which acts as the first point of contact for all social care enquiries for adults in the borough.

Since 2004 the Rothercare service charges have increased from £2.60 to £2.94 per week.  For the financial year 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 Rothercare customers did not incur any increase in their weekly charge.  It is proposed that from 4^th October 2010, the weekly charge be increased by 6 pence.  This would increase the overall charges as follows:-

• From £2.94 to £3.00 per week = £144 per annum for Council tenants based on charging over 48 weeks
• From £2.72 to £2.77 per week = £144.04 for non Council tenants based on charging customers over 52 weeks.

In addition to this increase it was proposed to make revisions to the Rothercare charging regime in relation to the freephone telephone number, the use of GSM diallers and to introduce fees for replacing lost or damaged equipment.

Resolved:- (1) That the increase in Rothercare weekly charge be agreed with effect from 4^th October 2010.

(2) That the revisions to the Rothercare charging regime in relation to the freephone telephone number and the introduction of fees for replacing  lost or damaged equipment be approved.

(3) That the revision to the use of GSM diallers be approved subject to an evaluation of the options available to existing users.