Agenda item

To receive a verbal update from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, the Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing and the Director of Public Health.

1.            Mr G K Gibbens gave a verbal update on the following adult social care issues:

8 December – Visited Hi Kent offices in Canterbury

15 December – Attended Sandwich Town Council Public Meeting on the future of Wayfarers Residential Home

22 December – Visit with the Chairman to Westview Integrated Care Centre in Tenterden, at which he met staff and residents, Highlands House offices in Tunbridge Wells and Adult Social Care and Public Health staff at Headquarters. The County Council had a joint arrangement with Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust for the provision of mental health care services, and staff working in this field were accredited mental health practitioners.

2.            Mr A Ireland then gave a verbal update on the following issues:

Hospital discharge arrangements over Christmas and New Year - social care staff had been present in all hospitals every day except Christmas Day and so were a very visible resource.  Work with NHS England before Christmas had aimed to reduce bed occupancy to 80%, to allow space for emergency admissions over the holiday period, and the system had worked well. There has been less pressure on beds than at Christmas 2014 but it was expected that pressure would increase through January as the weather grew colder.

Independent Chair of Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Board (SVAB) – a new independent Chair, Deborah Stuart – Angus, was now in post, thus bringing arrangements in line with the requirements of the Care Act, ie that such boards be chaired by an independent person. Responding to a question about a youth centre in Rochester which had received recent media coverage regarding safeguarding concerns, he advised the committee that Medway Council and the Medway Safeguarding Children Board were responsible for the running of the centre but the County Council,  as a potential future user of the service, had an interest in its good running.

National response to Comprehensive Spending Review – this had recognised the County Council’s ability to raise additional precept (the social care levy) and hence recognised the importance of funding increasing care needs.  However, the County Council’s social care budget was still short of what had been identified by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services as a required level of funding.

3.            Mr G K Gibbens gave a verbal update on the following adult public health issues:

4 December – Spoke at Family Nurse Partnership Event in Sessions House, Maidstone – this had included the presentation of awards to families and children.  

9 December – Spoke at West Kent and Medway Singing Project event in Sessions House, Maidstone – singing had been identified as being of great benefit to people living with dementia and mental health problems, and it had been good to see the happiness that it could bring to patients and carers.  

4.            Dr F Khan then gave a verbal update on the following issues:

Update on Dry January and online Know Your Score test – the aim of the Dry January campaign was to encourage people to either reduce or give up alcohol consumption for the whole of January, and this had been given more immediacy with the recent announcement from the Chief Medical Officer of the finding that consumption of more than 14 units of alcohol per week would place drinkers in a danger zone.  The launch of the ‘Know Your Score’ website had been successful, with 3,000 hits in the first week.  Users were able to calculate their level of risk by entering details of their alcohol consumption.  Responding to a question, Dr Khan explained that the launch had been timed to coincide with New Year resolutions.  The number of hits was encouraging, especially as many people, having calculated their risk, then went on to address their habits. 

Update on flu vaccinations – although some data was still to be collected, the level of uptake across all risk groups had been lower than in previous years.  This could be partly due to a milder start to the winter and partly to public scepticism about the value of vaccination in fighting the new and varying strains of flu which had appeared in recent years.  The likely pattern of spread of vires to the UK could be partly predicted by looking at the patterns in other countries. Responding to a question about the Keep Warm campaign, which was accessible only online, Dr Khan explained that public health practitioners would work with partners to ensure that those with no access to the internet would be made aware of the campaign and the guidance within it. 

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) development workshop – this workshop had sought to help practitioners to understand whether or not the county’s JSNA was fit for purpose.  A revised version of the JSNA would better meet future needs and new ways of commissioning services and would be a useful tool for commissioners.

5.            RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted.