Agenda item

To receive a report which describes the new Adult Social Care and Health (including the Lifespan Pathway Service) Operating Model.

Mr Thomas-Sam (Strategic Business Adviser, Social Care), Ms Maynard (Head of Commissioning Portfolio - Outcome 2 and 3), Ms Parker (Transformation Lead), Ms Frazer (ASCH STP Lead), Mr Walker (Assistant Director for Disabled Children and Young People) and Ms Gillivan (Transformation Programme Lead (DCALDMH)) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Gibbens (Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health) referred to the Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC) report which would be discussed at Cabinet in December 2018. He stated that since government had announced the introduction of £240 million nationally, which would be used primarily to reduce delayed transfers of care, an additional investment would be invested into adult social care to reduce pressures on the NHS and local authorities by getting patients home quicker and freeing up hospital beds across England. A discussion would take place at the Cabinet Meeting in December 2018 in relation to DTOC.

2.          Mrs Southern introduced the report which set out the new Adult Social Care and Health Operating Model, including the Lifespan Pathway Service.

3.          Mrs Southern, Mr Thomas-Sam, Mr Walker, Ms Parker, Ms Maynard, Ms Frazer and Ms Gillivan presented a set of slides which set out the design and implementation of the new operating models across all service divisions within the Adult Social Care directorate.

Officers then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following:

a)    Ms Maynard confirmed that there were currently 900 individual extra care units in Kent.

b)    Ms Parker said that telecare was provided to Kent residents by Centra. She added that in relation to telecare, Agilisys were the main point of contact for Kent’s residents. However, if an individual required care and support, they would be referred to the area referral management service.

c)    Mrs Southern referred to the implementation of the MOSAIC system. Colleagues were working hard to ensure that the challenges and risks around configuration for purchasing, client billing and payments were mitigated, to ensure minimum disruption to clients and staff.

d)    Mr Walker provided clarification on the Agilisys contract and staff retention rates within the service.

e)    In relation to the Lifespan Pathway Service, Mr Walker stated that disabled children that met the eligibility criteria would remain on the pathway, unless the services were no longer required.

f)     Ms Parker said that all phone calls received by Agilisys were monitored. She added that colleagues were actively seeking ways to support people at an earlier stage, before they reached crisis point.

g)    Mrs Southern referred to the future commissioning of the many effective adult social care and health models that were already in place across Kent. It was important that each of the models were evaluated frequently to best meet the needs of the service users.

h)    Mrs Southern expressed her views on the importance of the work that was undertaken by the voluntary sector within Kent. She acknowledged that the voluntary sector was a vital part of the delivery of the services within adult social care and health. Ms Parker added that Kent’s voluntary sector colleagues had provided a significant amount of support in relation to the DTOC report that would be discussed at Cabinet in December 2018.

i)     Mrs Southern referred to the figures within Appendix 1 to the report and answered questions from Members.

j)     Mrs Southern informed Members about the vast amount of internal and external training opportunities that were available to staff within adult social care and health in Kent.

k)    Mr Thomas-Sam and Ms Frazer referred to the financial assessments and legislative changes that were undertaken by Kent County Council and answered questions from Members on the subject.

4.          Mr Gibbens reassured Members of the Committee that they could contact him directly if there was an issue relating specifically to their local area.

5.          RESOLVED that the report be noted.