Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillor Chaplin disclosed an Other Disclosable Interest as she had spoken with a number of members of the public relating to the Elderly persons Homes proposals (Minute 32 refers) and had also been one of the Councillors that had called in the notice of decision on the Older Persons Mental Health Day-Care Services item (Minute 33 refers).

Councillor Joshi disclosed an Other Disclosable Interest as his wife had formerly worked in the Reablement Team within Adult Social Care, but was still employed by the City Council (Minute 32 refers) and that he was currently working for a voluntary organisation within mental health services (Minute 33 refers).

Councillor Moore disclosed an Other Disclosable Interest as she had spoken with families and staff in relation to the item relating to Older Persons Mental Health Day-Care Services item (Minute 33 refers).

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission held on 11^th July 2013, as previously circulated, be agreed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

Councillor Moore introduced the item and made reference to the previous meetings of the Scrutiny Commission that had discussed this area of work, and had been held on 1^st July and 11^TH July 2013. Responses by officers to the questions raised by members had been circulated and an opportunity had been given for Members to seek further information from officers on the responses given.

Councillor Moore stated that there was now a need to draw this review by the Scrutiny Commission to a conclusion so that a report could be prepared, setting out the conclusions reached, for consideration by the Executive.

Member’s attention was drawn to the Responses report circulated and to an additional sheet ‘Elderly Persons Homes – Financial Implications’ that had been drawn up by the Chair and had been tabled at the meeting.

Capital Expenditure

Current Funding is:

Funding already approved                                                                         £3.0m

Sale of EPH Sites (Preston, Herrick, Elizabeth, Nuffield)                    £1.41m

Sale of Brookside                                                                                        £0.4m

NHS Funding                                                                                               £1.23m

Total Current Capital Funding                                                                £6.04m

(Table drawn up at the request of the Chair)

Revenue Expenditure (table provided by officers)

Councillor Moore stated that, in relation to provision of intermediate and residential care, she had visited one of the homes referred to in the proposals and had come away with the impression that there were no conflicts regarding the provision of these two areas of care within one facility.

Members had an opportunity to question and comment on the options reported as follows: -

Councillor Alfonso – concerns that funding not in place to retain or re-furbish existing homes, funding would likely be sourced from elsewhere within the City Council therefore affecting other services. Therefore she could see no other option than Option A.

Councillor Joshi – having looked at all options reported and having taken into consideration all the information available Option A – 1 Intermediate Care Facility, No EPHs or Brookside (Revenue Expenditure Table). Noted that moving people with care was important.

Councillor Willmott – Not here to make a decision. The City Council is in business to provide public services. Clearly been failure to invest properly to ensure retention of this service,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Following the announcement by the City Mayor of a forthcoming proposal, following statutory consultation, to close Martin House Day Centre and Visamo Day Centre that provided services for older people with mental health issues, a statutory call-in by members was made and it was agreed that the issue be brought to this Scrutiny Commission.

The Scrutiny Commission received a report that set out information relating to the consultation process and the key findings were detailed within the report. The recommendation within the report was to close both services as the quality of service had been adversely affected by the low numbers using the service and therefore they were no longer financially viable.

A number of options were set out in the report and these are set out below: -

Option 1.Do nothing.  This is not an option because the service is no longer adequate for service users and is financially unviable.

Options 2.Expand the services offered by actively marketing and attracting people into the service.The service would need to be totally redesigned and change the way it operates in order to ensure the long term sustainability as evidence already shows that people are not choosing traditional day services and are instead opting for community based services that offer greater innovation and flexibility, including evening and weekend provision.

Option 3. Combine the two services to run from one building.  This is not a viable option as based on current evidence, the combined service would still be relatively small and would therefore be unaffordable when applying true costs of the service which currently stand at £111 per person per day, compared to an average of £28 per person per day in the voluntary sector.

Option 4. Develop the services into an Enablement /outreach service. Whilst this fits in with current model around the future of in-house provision, the proposal is premature as the redesign of in-house day care is in the early stages. Substantial change of this nature would mean current job descriptions and salary scales would have to be consulted on and revised and the opportunity to be part of the new service offered to a wider group of staff.

Option 5. Close the service and move existing service users to alternative provision.  This would ensure the provision of suitable stimulating services for individuals and deliver a cost effective solution.

·         In order to ensure the most sensitive and appropriate method of transition both service users and staff at the current OPMH service, the Council will:

·         Carry out an assessment of each individual during August and September 2013. This will be done with the full involvement of family carers and with the offer of advocacy support. The assessments will be carried out and followed through by a dedicated team of care managers who will then support individuals and their families to find appropriate services that meet their needs.

·         There are currently 152 vacancies within this type of provision in the voluntary sector and a number of other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Members were informed that in July 2012 the Executive had given approval to a 6 month Enablement Pilot to support people with learning and/or physical disabilities attending the Council’s day care services to experience greater community based opportunities. The pilot had started in September 2012 with 20 people from the Braunstone, Belgrave and New Parks areas of the City and the pilot had then finished in March 2013. In July 2013 the Executive had stated that they were minded to approve a roll-out of the Enablement Pilot, renamed the Community Inclusion Team.

Members were offered a brief presentation but were of the opinion that, as the accompanying report had been issued the previous day it was suggested that members approach officers on an individual basis if they required further information on the work of the Community Inclusion Team. Due to timescales, the Chair noted that a decision on this proposal would be made before the next meeting of the Scrutiny Commission it was suggested that the outcome be fed back to members at that meeting.

The Scrutiny Commission received the updated Draft Work Programme 2013/14 for consideration and comment.

The Chair closed the meeting at 9.10pm.