Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ascot and Bray - Town Hall

Contact: Andy Carswell 

Note: MP3 

Items
No. Item

56.

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

To elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman for the 2017/18 municipal year.

Minutes:

Cllr Ilyas nominated himself for the position of Chairman. The motion was seconded by Cllr Diment and unanimously approved by Members. Cllr Ilyas was elected as Chairman of the Panel for the 2017/18 municipal year.

 

Cllr Airey nominated himself for the position of Vice Chairman. The motion was seconded by Cllr Diment and unanimously approved by Members. Cllr Airey was elected as Vice Chairman of the Panel for the 2017/18 municipal year.

57.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Lenton and Hilary Hall.

 

58.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

59.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 75 KB

To approve the Part I minutes of the meeting held on May 17th 2017.

Minutes:

The Part I minutes of the meeting held on May 17th 2017 were unanimously agreed as an accurate record.

60.

Annual Compliments and Complaints Report pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To review the report.

Minutes:

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care introduced the item by explaining the report covered all complaints received in 2016/17 under the statutory complaints procedures for adults and children’s care, as well as the formal procedure for corporate complaints. She informed Members that complaints were taken very seriously by the Council, and the policy enabled staff the opportunity to receive feedback from customers and learn lessons as a result.

 

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care outlined the large number of interactions that adult social care staff had with customers to contextualise the complaints that were received. Members were informed that there were around 1,700 adults in the Royal Borough receiving long term care and support and 1,800 concerns and enquiries about safeguarding were received. There were 484 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding assessments carried out.

 

Members were informed that the complaints procedure had changed during the course of the time period referred to in the report, and the complaints process now consisted of only one stage. Members were informed that the Council aimed to resolve complaints within ten days, and the Complaints Team would liaise with a complainant if there were delays to their case. It was also explained that a complainant could escalate their complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman for further investigation. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that a total of 12 complaints were investigated by the LGO, and that two of them related to adult and social care services. Of those, one was upheld and the other was not.

 

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that the Council received a total of 802 complaints in 2016/17. Of these, 42 related to adult and social care; around five per cent of the overall total. Members were informed this represented a reduction from 44 from the previous year. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that 20 complaints related to the largest team, which handled interactions with older people and those with physical disabilities, and four related to finance. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that these two teams had the largest number of interactions with customers. Of the 42 complaints relating to adult and social care, seven related to the attitude/behaviour of staff. Members were informed that 60 per cent of complaints were made by the service user.

 

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that 71 per cent of complainants who made a complaint relating to adult and social care received a response within the agreed target timeframe of ten days, compared to 62 per cent the previous year. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said those falling outside the timeframe often involved complex issues that required further investigation.

 

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said that focus groups had been held on certain topic areas as a way of learning lessons and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

61.

Update on Transfer of Adult Services to Optalis pdf icon PDF 260 KB

To note the contents of the report.

Minutes:

The Head of Commissioning – Adults and Children, Strategy and Commissioning introduced the item and explained the governance and management of adult services as outlined in Appendix 1 of the report. Members were informed that the Optalis Shareholding Board makes decisions on Reserved Matters and is comprised of six directors, three from the Royal Borough and three from Wokingham Borough Council. Members were informed that the Joint Commissioning Board was responsible for reviewing contracts and commissioning work at Optalis, the Operational Commissioning Group was responsible for managing performance, and the Executive Board took responsibility for governance of the company’s activities. The Adult Services and Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel at the Royal Borough retained the ability to scrutinise the contract between Optalis and the Council, and to scrutinise the performance.

 

The Head of Commissioning – Adults and Children, Strategy and Commissioning informed Members that the update report measured progress from March to the end of August. Members were informed that there had been a notable improvement in performance regarding delayed transfer of patients from hospital care, and in relation to applications for Deprivation of Liberty Standards. However it had been acknowledged that there were areas that required improvement, including timeliness of reviews for people and their carers receiving ongoing services, and reviewing of Independence Plans provided by the Council’s care provider, Carewatch. Members were informed that these two areas were not meeting their targets. The Head of Commissioning – Adults and Children, Strategy and Commissioning informed Members that in order to meet satisfactory standards with regards to safeguarding, Optalis were in the process of recruiting additional staff and the company was confident targets would be met by March 2018 as a result. Members were informed that Finance was performing well and there had been an overall underspend in adult social care, due mainly to a number of one-off windfall payments.

 

The Vice Chairman asked for clarification on the performance indicator relating to the percentage of Deprivation of Liberty Standards applications not dealt with within 12 months. The Head of Commissioning – Adults and Children, Strategy and Commissioning explained that performance was currently much better than targeted. The process for carrying out a Deprivation of Liberty Standards assessment, and which customers they relate to, was explained to Members.

 

The Vice Chairman asked if there were any issues pre-transfer which were affecting the most recent figures. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said there was a stretched target in terms of reviews and carers’ reviews. Members were informed that in order to meet the new stretched target permission had been given to recruit four new members of staff. Three of the vacancies had been filled but the Council was still seeking to recruit a fourth member of staff who would take responsibility for working with adults with autism.

 

The Vice Chairman asked for more information on Independence Plans, as this was an area where targets were not being met. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

62.

Update on Delivery of Business Plan

To note the contents of the update report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care explained that the Business Plan had been developed in order for targets and performance objectives to be set, and to reflect the work being carried out in the Royal Borough and in Wokingham.

 

The Chairman asked for examples of challenges that staff had faced with regards to the delivery of the Business Plan. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated that a system that ensuring a service user would be referred to the same member of staff each time they contacted the team was being implemented, and was proving a useful motivator for staff. She explained that having a member of staff assigned to a case reduced the time filling out assessments, and many callers wanted a quick intervention. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated that Delivering and Transforming Care Pathways, where staff worked with people with a learning difficulty who needed a health intervention, had also been challenging for staff. Members were informed that attracting staff had been a challenge, as social workers would traditionally apply for roles at a council rather than an outside body.

 

The Chairman asked the Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care if an example of a success could be shared with Members. She stated that the Transforming Care Pathways scheme had managed to secure places in the local area for three residents with profound learning difficulties. Members were informed that ordinarily people with this level of need would be placed into care in specialist centres, often long distances from the Royal Borough; however this example, where Optalis staff had worked with the NHS, meant residents were able to stay in suitable care near their families.

 

Cllr Hollingsworth asked if staff were provided with additional support and/or funding in order to earn further qualifications. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated that a talent programme identifying members of staff with potential but little formal education had been implemented, as a means of recognising the values and attitude of staff members. She stated that as a result of this project a staff member had felt the confidence to apply for a management post within the organisation. Members were informed that two new social workers may soon be recruited as a result of an Open University education.

 

Responding to a question from Cllr Hollingsworth, the Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated she believed the relationship between the Council and NHS had improved and was positive.

63.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

To consider passing the following resolution:-

 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 9 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act."

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 9 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act."

64.

Minutes

To approve the Part II minutes of the meeting held on May 17th 2017.

Minutes:

Cllr Hollingsworth asked if any cheaper quotes had been received for companies to handle the contract for both care homes. The Managing Director said that only one quote had been received, and it was felt more beneficial to have one company overseeing the two care homes as staff could be transferred between the two as and when needed.

 

The Part II minutes of the meeting held on May 17th 2017 were unanimously agreed as an accurate record.