Agenda item

The Head of Adult Services acknowledged that the report only reflected the last six months and highlighted that they were still dealing with the pandemic. The Head of Adult Services noted that the report had allowed them to refocus and prioritise workstreams to make sure they were what was required due to the pandemic.

The Head of Adult Services noted that the number of referrals had remained steady, but referrals were more complex. The Head of Adult Services highlighted the increased activity in Adult Services within hospital sites and notably the Grange, as well as a reduction of staff available in both hospitals and in social care generally, with the lack of domiciliary care having slowed processes down.

The Head of Adult Services highlighted the financial sustainability of care homes where there was a threat of other providers closing and staff shortages. The Head of Adult Services assured committee that they have been proactive in working creatively with providers to give them the resources necessary to keep them open.

Questions:

The committee asked:

·         How has service user voice been used by Adult Services and have any changes been noted in said voice?

The Head of Adult Services highlighted the example of independent living for young people with learning or physical disabilities and how work had been done to hear their voices to improve their experience regarding building skills and learning. The Head of Adult Services also noted the importance of consulting individuals at every stage to ensure the optimal outcome for them regardless of what that is.

·         Is there a plan B if there were any further closures of providers?

Head of Adult Services noted that staffing issues within domiciliary care could influence the packages that providers are able to give, and work was being done to ensure that everyone had the minimum required to continue working and were working to prevent future issues.

·         Following the closure of the provider and rehoming of its residents, are families involved in these discussions?

The Head of Adult Services confirmed that families were involved and that they used this as an opportunity to revisit what would be best for the person at hand. The Head of Adult Services acknowledged that it was lucky that all 27 residents were able to be moved to a new location that was preferable to them and their families.

·         Are companies able to help people with disabilities get into the workforce?

The Head of Adult Services confirmed that there were day opportunities available which was a part of care planning for the individuals and reiterated the importance of these for people with learning and physical disabilities. The Head of Adult Services highlighted the importance of recognising the interests of the individuals and ensuring that they are fully supported to do that as part of package. The Head of Adult Services noted that while there are various opportunities across Newport, the effects of the pandemic are still evident.

·         How concerned was the Head of Adult Services at this stage with the upcoming Winter challenges?

The Head of Adult Services confirmed that they were at a crisis point in terms of the stability of provider services which had a direct impact on adult services. The Head of Adult Services highlighted that they must be smart with resources and look at creative ways to recruit, retain and meet the needs of staff, but acknowledged it was a risky situation.

The Cabinet Member informed committee that the Regional Partnership Board was looking at data already and were looking into increasing finances, improving the quality of service and care and other measures. The Cabinet member informed committee that there may be an announcement coming from Welsh Government regarding finance.

·         How would social care in the present be addressed, what could be done to get out of the difficult situation?

The Cabinet Member acknowledged that it was a difficult situation as it wasn’t just employing staff that was an issue, and that Covid infections were impacting staff availability. The Cabinet Member reiterated the hope for a Welsh Government announcement and highlighted the importance of employment packages to attract staff into the care sector.

·         What chance is there of hitting the appointee-ship target?

The Head of Adult Services highlighted that it was running and effective in Newport for the citizens. The Head of Adult Services acknowledged that there was work still to be done as all efforts during the pandemic were put into supporting care services, but now they were able to, they were coming up with options and working more quickly on this piece of work.

·         Would the target for the development of reablement and dementia services be met?

The Head of Adult Services felt that this would be a more difficult target to meet as they’ve had to repurpose many reablement services into reablement for people without dementia, and while difficult to achieve, the Head of Adult Services was hopeful it would be green.

·         Would the implementation date for the Liberty Protection Safeguards be met?

The Head of Adult Services informed committee that this had kept being put back, and that they were waiting for the code of practice to be given and for the consultation to conclude. The Head of Adult Services assured committee that this time would be used to ensure staff had refresher training on the legislation.

·         Are they on course to create a working group to review key jobs and descriptions across adult community services and deliver this by March 2022?

The Head of Adult Services informed committee that there hadn’t been capacity to concentrate on this as planned but it was being reviewed as it had come up, in a “drip-feed” style rather than on a whole scale, and that while they were at 20% now, they should be on course to meet this.

·         Would the development of a regional appointee-ship service through collaboration with other local authorities and partners be delivered by 2022?

The Head of Adult Services expressed the hope that it would be.

·         The committee questioned whether this would this be done regionally with one person leading it or by a team of people.

The Head of Adult Services felt that there was a need for local people to run the appointee-ship for it to be accessible for residents. The Head of Adult Services noted that while it may end up with a single person running it, the importance of determining who had the skills and how it would be managed locally was paramount.

·         How did the Head of Adult Services see progression continuing regarding item 1 on page 27?

The Head of Adult Services noted that they were currently undergoing an accreditation and when achieved, it could be embedded across the workforce.