Agenda item

Report of the Scrutiny Manager recommending that the Panel challenge and consider the appended information relating to the performance of Adult Social Care services, the current financial position of the service and the service transformation programme.

The Panel considered the appended presentation which provided the Panel with an overview of the performance of Adult Social Care (ASC) in Southampton and an update on the service transformation programme.

Kate Concannon, Head of Quality, Governance and Professional Development in ASC; Clare Edgar, Executive Director Wellbeing and Housing; and Councillor Finn, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

• The performance data provided did not cover all of ASC, but key stages and indicators of the service have been highlighted.

·  ASC data was hard to report on due to the non-rigid nature of the national Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.

·  There had been significant improvement in performance data collection over the past 20 months.

• The safeguarding service had been restructured, leading to improvements and resolving issues with section 42 enquiries. Safeguarding in ASC must work within the Mental Health Capacity Act, allowing adults to live within their chosen risk. The safeguarding action plan included detailed actions for each workstream.

·  Early intervention in Southampton had helped reduce the need for specialist care or full-time care, benefiting residents, families, and the council.

• The number of people requesting support from adult social care had decreased, and full care assessments were more targeted. The conversion rate of care act assessments into full care support plans was now in line with statistical neighbours. Addressing issues at the point of assessment had reduced the need for full care plans. A waiting list tool had been introduced to regularly contact people and monitor deterioration.
• Some local authorities have struggled to meet care act duties since the pandemic, but Southampton has not had to request suspension of these duties.
• Reablement efforts have improved, focusing on independence and effective hospital discharge.
• There was a need to educate staff on direct payments to ensure proper support and information for users. The virtual wallet had been introduced to streamline payments and reduce paperwork.
• DOLS were not fully effective in keeping people safe, and there was national recognition of the need for better risk management.
• Historical reliance on institutional and domiciliary care had raised concerns about restrictions on liberty rights. Preventing unnecessary admissions to care and improving care pathways can reduce demand. Non-urgent placements still take a long time, but improvements had been made
• The value for money and effectiveness of commissioned contract's were being scrutinized, with efforts to increase occupancy and ensure contract efficiency. Southampton's social care market was strong.
• The interim DASS had the capacity to continue driving transformation due to strong leadership and familiarity with the challenges

The Panel thanked Claire Edgar for her work in improving the performance of Southampton City Council’s Adult Social Care Service and wished her good luck in her future career.

RESOLVED 

1)  That the outcomes and accompanying action plan from the recent Safeguarding Peer Review would be circulated to the Panel.

2)  That the service would review the performance dataset that was presented to the Panel to ensure that it enabled members to have an effective oversight of the performance of the service.

3)  That, to support effective oversight of the Adult Social Care Transformation Programme moving forward, the Panel would be provided with a plan that gives:

a)  An overview of the workstreams that form part of each of the transformation programmes

b)  The target savings attached to each workstream

c)  Key milestones for the workstream

d)  An understanding of what success will look like if the workstream is effective

e)  An explanation as to how the workstream will impact on the performance dataset.