Agenda item
Adult Social Care Annual Performance Assessment 2008/09
The Select Committee requested the attendance of the Lead Member and the lead officer for this item to respond to questions from Members.
The Executive report is attached for information.
Minutes:
The committee expressed their disappointment that the Lead Member for Adults, Health and Social Care had been unable to attend this meeting to respond to questions on this item.
Martin Cheeseman, Director of Housing and Community Care, introduced the report on the Adult Social Care Annual Performance Assessment 2008/09, which went to the Executive on the 18 January 2010. The report advised members on the Annual Performance Assessment (APA) judgement for Adult Social Care for 2008/09, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Martin Cheeseman explained that overall the council was judged to be performing well. He added that the report identified areas requiring further improvement and summarised action taken to date.
Martin Cheeseman advised that councils were supposed to have been assigned a business manager from the commission to work with the council throughout the year, but due to internal problems in the commission, the council was never assigned one. This, he explained, meant that the only contact that the council had with the commission was when they came in to do their assessment. Martin Cheeseman stated that the council were now looking towards next year’s assessment. The council, he advised, had been assigned a business manager from the commission who would be looking especially closely at areas such as safeguarding and how the council was responding to the personalisation agenda.
In response to a query around safeguarding, Martin Cheeseman explained that if a council was given an adequate in safeguarding, it could only get an adequate overall. He advised the committee that the Safeguarding Senior Practitioner post, referred to in the report, had now been filled. He also stated that an independent chair had now been appointed to the Adults Safeguarding Board. With regards to the launch of the pan-London safeguarding procedures, Martin Cheeseman advised that the launch had been delayed because the proposed procedures were not considered fit for purpose by the Adult Social Care Directors. He added that it was hoped that a revised set of proposed procedures would be put forward within the next couple of months.
In responding to a question regarding when the reablement service, noted in paragraph 4.6.3 of the report, was due to begin, Martin Cheeseman explained that it would start from April 2010. He added that reablement was about helping people ‘to do’ more for themselves to enable them to become independent and protect them from unnecessary admission to long term residential care. He advised that evidence suggested that 50-60% of the people who go through the service do not need to use the service again afterwards. He explained that not only was the service therefore cost effective but also helped people to get back into the community and lead independent lives. In response to a concern regarding what would happen to those who had gone through the service but were still not able to look after themselves, Martin Cheeseman explained that the person would be reassessed and a regular care package would begin if required.
The importance of maintaining personal dignity and respect was noted by the committee. In response to a question regarding how new councillors would be kept informed of what was going on in adult social services and the personalisation agenda, Martin Cheeseman explained that as usual they would be carrying out the normal member induction sessions with all councillors after the elections. He added that there may be a need to carry out specific briefings and sessions with councillors on the personalisation agenda.
A concern was raised regarding the difficulties in recruiting occupational therapists. It was asked whether the pan-London procedures would prevent individual London boroughs from paying occupational therapists more than other boroughs. Martin Cheeseman explained that the pan-London procedures would not cover this. In response to a comment regarding the need for robust IT and financial systems to implement self directed care services, Martin Cheeseman explained that ‘frameworki’ was considered to be a good system and that work was currently being carried out to make the system more user-friendly.
RESOLVED:-
that the Executive report on the Adult Social Care Annual Performance Assessment 2008/09 be noted.
Supporting documents: