Agenda item

The Panel considered the report of the Interim Director of Adult Social Services which provided an update on performance against Key Performance Indicators for Adult Social Care.

Vernon Nosal, Interim Director of Adult Social Services and Councillor Fielker, Cabinet Member for Health, Adults and Leisure were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

·  This was the first comprehensive performance report that had been considered by the Panel.

·  New staff had been recruited and work force stability had increased.

·  Feedback was collected from staff as part of an annual council staff survey.

·  Staff feedback had indicated that processes could be more efficient.

·  For a number of indicators statistical neighbour comparisons could only be provided on an annual basis.

·  The report highlighted exceptions in performance, such as where there had been a significant change or a consistently very low or very high indicator.

·  Direct payments were complex and digital solutions had been explored to help make it simple and easy to access for people.  There was a fixed traditional model of care provision that was not as flexible as people demanded.  A micro economy of services that are flexible and suitable to meet the needs of direct payment clients would be helpful.

·  The review figures reported that 70% of reviews had been completed, however, a number of Panel Members reflected that this did not correspond with feedback from local residents who are in receipt of adult social care services, many of whom reported that they had not had a review.

·  The service operated a waiting list for completing reviews, which prioritised the completion of reviews according to risk.

·  It was important that reviews were completed in a timely manner to ensure that the service was providing the right care.

·  The service was bound by the Mental Capacity Act to make sure that they find out what people want and if it was clear that someone did not have mental capacity, they were required to use the protection courts to approve care plans.

·  Councillors had received feedback from service users that when they had made a complaint about a care service it had been difficult to progress and resolve the issues.  It was important that the service was managing complaints effectively.

·  Care services were provided by organisations that had been commissioned by Adult Social Services, and these organisations were responsible for the management of the staff that provided care.

·  A transformation programme had been developed for the adult social care service.

RESOLVED 

1)  That an overview of the transformation programme would be appended to the next Adult Social Care Performance report, which was scheduled to be considered by the Panel at the 9 February 2023 meeting.

2)  That the Adult Social Care workforce indicators would be included within the performance dataset to be considered at future meetings.

3)  That, reflecting concerns about the accuracy of the data reported, an audit of the performance relating to reviews undertaken would be conducted.