My Report to Council

Posted By: Dale Mulgrew
Date Posted: 10/02/2009

REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE TO THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL ON 4th FEBRUARY 2009


Thank you Mr Mayor for the opportunity to report to the Council the latest developments on various matters relating to the Health and Social Care Portfolio.

Adult Care

Star is returned:

I was pleased to receive our annual assessment at the end of last year that confirmed Adult Care is once more a two star service as judged by the national regulator CSCI (commission for social care inspectorate).

Overall, the Council received a rating of 'good' and CSCI judged the services as having 'promising' capacity to improve further, highlighting strengths in leadership, improved outcomes and more effective partnership working.
I thanked many of the staff at a celebratory lunch hosted at the new Adult Care headquarters located at Brook House in central Middleton, but I would like to re-state my praise for Jim Wilson’s contribution to this significant achievement. Clearly the Interim Director of Adult Care has been extremely instrumental in us regaining the star, and his clarity of purpose has driven the organisation forward.
Because of this success I am delighted that after the six month break review (as agreed through the scrutiny process last year), that we will be extending his contract for the full period, ensuring that he will be with us for most of this year. This continuity is most important during the modernisation work that is currently transforming the way adult care operates. We will also be able to work with Jim to ensure that a succession is planned in order that the legacy he is building is not abandoned on his departure.
Interestingly enough, this will be the last time we receive an annual judgement in the format it has been presented in over the last few years. This is because both the Social Care Regulator and Health Care Regulator are amalgamating under one banner, so that a new coherent and streamlined framework can be introduced.

Learning Disability Service:

Firstly, I note the hard work and effort that the Learning Disabilities Scrutiny Study has expended over the duration of the last eighteen months, while they have investigated some of the aspects of this service. Their recommendations have great value to the ongoing work that the service is involved with, and I take this opportunity to thank them and commend the report that came to Cabinet.

As someone who has more than a passing interest in this agenda through my role as Chair of the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board, I appreciate the heightened interest demonstrated through this scrutiny study. I especially mention the feedback I received from members of the study who undertook visits to some of out area placements.

The Partnership Board now has appointed two co-chairs who are from the service user cohort and they are called Mansoor and Carl. Both attended the January meeting in their new posts.


Services to Older People:

As part of the modernisation of Adult Care we are introducing radical changes to service delivery and this is why we launched last year the new STARS service that is now fully live and operational.

As a consequence of this change in service delivery, we are looking to re-tender our home support contracts in the spring. Concurrently we will see the implementation of innovative technology via the introduction of electronic monitoring that will improve the service provided.

To assist the governance of this re-tendering process, I have set up a domiciliary strategy group, which meets bi-monthly to discuss the evolving changes that we are introducing. This is a critical process and is part of the wider transformation programme that we are following. As a result the new contracts that will be awarded, we will have ramped up expectations around quality and standards, and we will create a preferred providers list in conjunction with a more robust accreditation system.

Self Directed Care

I am sure members will be more than aware that social care is changing. The world of ‘personalisation’ through the individual having more of a say and control over what services are provided is fast approaching.

Naturally we have an obligation to respond to this new world and as a result we will need to formulate a system that allocates monies accordingly to an assessed need. We are already working on creating a self assessment process and devising a resource allocation system. The era of the budget holder not being the subsidiser, but instead the service user, is not far away. This local authority has been set a target of 2,000 service users to be using a personal budget by 2011

Finally, I was happy that the Council was able to financially support a new care social enterprise that was formed by some of the employees of the Council’s former Home Support Service. The starting capital grant awarded by the Council will be matched by a development grant and they will be supported in their endeavour by a well respected employee owner social enterprise based in Tyneside, who will mentor and develop the business model in Rochdale.


Health


More GP’s in the Borough

It has been a real honour to have been invited onto the board that decided where and how the PCT would use their government funding on providing new GP’s for the Borough. Members will be aware that new GP surgeries will be delivered to Smallbrdge, Kirkholt, Heywood, and Central Rochdale; with a new GP led health centre to be built in Middleton town centre.

All these new health facilities have to go live by December of this year, and the PCT will now be re-convening the project board for the coming months with a new mandate - the board now will focus on the mobilisation of these sites and the delivery of the schemes.

This board though will continue to concentrate on extended hour’s provision. The PCT has performed better on this area in the last year or so, even opening an extended clinic at the Sainsbury’s supermarket at Heaton Park. They are fully aware that this is an objective they have to really deliver upon and with all the new LIFT centres and GP clinics going on stream over the next couple of years, they have a golden opportunity to shape the way they can increase opening hours across the borough.

I know that the Council’s role in the process thus far has far more reaching benefits then just participating in an important programme that is delivering better health services. It is a clear demonstration of closer joint working that has impressed the strategic health authority as not many PCT’s are engaged with their local authority colleagues in this way.

Livelive 2009:

After the success of last year’s health conference, which saw a large participation from across the statutory and voluntary sectors, this year’s conference will be on Monday 2nd of March and will be held at the new Middleton Arena.


Health and Well Being Partnership Board:

We have now begun to set up the sub tier of groups that sit under the main board, with each having an important health mission. We have a new life expectancy group that will look at overcoming the barriers in trying to increase life, and to quash the health inequalities that are prevalent in the borough. Healthy lifestyles is another group that will look at lifestyle choices that lead to good health such as access to leisure, dietary habits of communities, health trainers availability etc.


Supporting People
New services being commissioned:

I can report to members that two new important services have been commissioned and are now in full swing.

The Rough Sleepers Sservice is in a pilot phase and is being project managed by the Petrus organisation. It was a privilege to go to a project board meeting recently where I heard some of the success that the service was having in making contact with some difficult and complex individuals.

In fact, they had managed to work towards two individuals who have been returned to independent living, but clearly for many who they work with the chaotic nature of their life styles bring big challenges. In such instances to get to the intermediate stage of frequent interventional work is an outcome that is a feat in itself that should be celebrated. Every member will know that rough sleeping is a problem in the borough, but this project is trying to respond and provide a solution to meet the guidance on what supporting people is all about.

Finally, the new Supported Lodgings Service encourages young people from dysfunctional backgrounds to be supported through an unoccupied bedroom in a household. It is then hoped that the family who are providing this paid accommodation will work with the service user to influence them and inject a degree of normality. This has worked extremely successfully in other local authorities.

Councillor Dale Mulgrew