Agenda item

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) submits the following reports:

a)     A report outlining progress with individual residents’ moves to alternative accommodation, where their current homes are to due be, or have been, closed.  (Appendix E1)

The Commission is recommended to note this update and comment as appropriate; and

b)     A report updating the Commission on the perceptions of residents four weeks after their move from Elizabeth House and Nuffield House.  (Appendix E2)

The Commission is recommended to note the positive findings from resident responses and to note the reasons for any dissatisfaction identified at this stage and the mitigating actions that have been undertaken.

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) also will provide an update at the meeting on progress with the sale of premises.

a)    Progress with Moves to Alternative Accommodation

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) submitted a report outlining progress with individual residents’ moves to alternative accommodation, where their current homes were to due be, or had been, closed. 

It was noted that the procurement process to determine the future of Abbey House and Cooper House was due to be completed within the next few weeks and it was anticipated that an update on the outcome of the procurement process would be made to the Commission in due course.  Once the sale of these premises had been completed, an evaluation of phase 1 would be prepared and submitted to the Commission.  No further update was available on the pending legal proceedings regarding Herrick Lodge.

The Adult Social Care Business Transition Manager advised that 4 permanent and 7 temporary residents currently were in Herrick Lodge, as the home was still available for people to enter on a temporary basis.

In reply to a question, it was noted that resident number 24 had been in hospital, so to date it had not been possible to complete a 4 week review.  This would be done as soon as possible though.

b)    Evaluation of Residents Moving under Phase 1

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) submitted a report updating the Commission on the perceptions of residents four weeks after their move from Elizabeth House and Nuffield House.

The Adult Social Care Business Transition Manager advised the Commission that it was recognised that moving out of elderly persons’ homes would be hard for some residents, so the Council had aimed to use a process under which residents understood what was happening at each stage.  The report submitted drew together comments received before residents moved, at the point of moving and after they had moved.  As could be seen from the report, there had been no placement breakdowns.

The Assistant Mayor (Adult Social Care) commended the officers who had been working on this.  Before the process started, research had been done on how other authorities had approached similar situations, but there were few examples available.  The Assistant Mayor stated that the way in which the moves had been processed in the city was exemplary, with any issues arising being addressed very quickly. 

The Commission welcomed the way that the evidence had been gathered.  However, there was some concern that there appeared to be no family perceptions of what the residents had experienced.  In reply, the Adult Social Care Business Transition Manager advised that part of the moving plan process involved asking residents who they wanted involved in the process and how this should be done.  As a result, some people had said that they wanted to represent themselves, but others nominated people to represent them.

It was noted that two people had died during the moving process.  Both of them had moved to new homes, but had terminal illnesses.

Mr Philip Parkinson, on behalf of Healthwatch, stated that Healthwatch was happy to add external support to the evaluation of the process used for residents moving under phase 1.

The Commission stressed that it was hoped that it could be part of the evaluation process for the whole of phase 1.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be received and welcomed; and

2)    That the Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) be asked to include the Commission in the evaluation of the whole process used under phase 1 of residents’ moves to alternative accommodation, where their current homes were to due be, or had been, closed.