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 Gibbens, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, reported on a tour he had completed of some adult care facilities with the Chairman, including Westbrook, an integrated care facility at Westgate-on-Sea where they met residents.  This had included a visit to the Ogden Wing which is home to residents with dementia with challenging behaviour.  They went on to visit staff at Chestfield prior to going to the new learning disability provisions in Thanet.  He had also visited Laurel House.  In addition he had hosted a “Children’s Commissioner Takeover Challenge” involving representatives of schools around Kent challenging various Cabinet Members over services that had been commissioned.  His group had been concerned about obesity and CAMHS (childhood and adolescent mental health services), including the difficulty in accessing services, the upshot of which had been that a meeting would be held between the young people, the local GP and Mr Gibbens.

2. Mr A Ireland, Corporate Director Social Care, Health and Wellbeing, drew Members’ attention to the Police and Crime Bill currently making its way through Parliament, especially the provisions in that legislation for adult social care, particularly in relation to the work of the approved mental health practitioners in terms of their roles around assessment and compulsory admissions.  The issues at stake were around the use of police stations as a place of safety for assessment.  The loss of this would require the development of some other facilities.  He then turned to the funding of adult social care which remained unsettled.  He anticipated that there would be consultation and discussion (if only through the professional associations) as the matter emerged both in terms of how funding was allocated to local authorities to meet their statutory duties towards adult social and also in terms of phase 2 of the Care Act (financial thresholds etc).  He would continue to keep the Committee apprised of developments.  The Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) work was underway on developing a range of different models and anticipating future structures and delivery models.  The County Council was fully engaged at Member and officer level on all the various working groups and was making the fullest possible contribution, ensuring that the principles and details of the provision of social care agreed by the County Council were being pursued.  Council staff were working hard over the winter period to seek to ensure that as many people as possible were discharged from hospital as easily as possible.   The systems were showing, despite the pressures placed upon them, considerable resilience.

In response to questions from members of the Committee Mr Ireland made the following points:

·         He welcomed comments made in support of the work of social care staff

·         In terms of domiciliary care, the message was being communicated with the NHS that it was in their interest to resolve matters because of the close interdependency between NHS and council services/issues.

·         He confirmed that a report would be brought back concerning the Police and Crime Bill and its implications on adult social care.

·         He undertook to keep the Committee updated with intelligence about the future funding of adult social care.

·         The timetable for the STP was such as to not affect the forthcoming financial year but there were short term measures being put in place by the Government which would affect 2017-18.

·         He acknowledged that some hospital discharges were taking longer than they might, but there was commitment across the entire sector to try to get as many people discharged to their own homes wherever possible and appropriate.

·         He had spoken with the Police and Crime Commissioner who acknowledged the importance of further work in relation to people with mental health issues.

3.         Dr A Duggal, the Deputy Director of Public Health, reported that she had met with the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation as part of an open day discussion.  The event had sought to ensure that appropriate services were developed and delivered through the Ebbsfleet area as people moved into the area.  She referred to the Kent Drug and Alcohol Strategy that was out for consultation – there were still three weeks for responses which would be welcomed.  Further work was being undertaken in respect of suicide prevention including the award winning Release the Pressure campaign.  A grant had recently been awarded for the education of professionals to help address mental health issues for young people.  Finally she referred to the newly published report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the State of Child Health, which had a number of recommendations, many of which were beginning to be addressed, for example achieving Unicef baby friendly status within children’s centres and partner organisations.