Minutes:
(a) Mrs Bell said that an 8-week consultation was ongoing regarding the proposed changes to the charges people pay for The Council’s chargeable services for Adult Social Care both at home and in the community. The consultation would close 21 March 2023. The proposal would extend the savings credit disregard from those in care homes to those receiving their care at home and to those new to the service. This would bring the Council's charges in line with those set out in national legislation.
(b) The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of Health and Social Care in England, would launch a new CQC Assurance process for Adult Social Care functions. The CQC would visit from April 2023 to assess the services provided in Kent. The head of the inspection said that Adult Social Care must co-produce a self-assessment with people who have used the service. It was noted that Adult Social Care would expect to be assessed on how they placed people’s experiences at the centre of their decision-making and on the four themes: working with people, providing support, ensuring safety and leadership. Adult Social Care would identify both the areas where it was working well and areas where improvement was required. People who had received Adult Social Care Services in Kent were asked to answer a survey to ensure that their views were reflected in the assessment. This could be accessed on the Kent County Council websites ‘Let’s Talk’ page. The assessment would close on 31 March 2023.
(c) Ms Bell said Kent County Council teams had won three awards at the Public Sector Transformation Awards, 8 March 2023. These awards celebrated innovative approaches to transforming public services. Adult Social Care won bronze for the best use of digital and technology award for the Technology Enabled Care Services. Silver for the transformation of health and social care award for community micro-enterprises and gold for the communications award for the Kent Adult Social Care strategy. Mrs Bell thanked all the staff involved in these projects that won the awards.
(a) Mr Smith said that he had attended a conference on Friday 10 March 2023 where matters on Adult Social Care and the impact of the financial climate on providers were discussed. It was noted that the financial challenges were of major concern, a point that was raised by many of the presenters. Recruitment and workforce issues were also discussed and noted as a matter of concern.
(b) Mr Smith said that he was holding open-door sessions, where he made time available to meet with frontline staff from across Kent Adult Social Care. The sessions were noted as being useful for understanding the challenges and concerns being experienced in the provision of direct services.
(c) A staff event had been hosted following the publication of staff survey results. The survey had identified many areas of continued satisfaction, such as hybrid working, work-life balance and connectivity with their teams and the communities they support. It was also noted that there were ongoing challenges identified, such as, the disconnect between the vision and strategy for Adult Social Care which would need to be better communicated by senior leadership teams to frontline staff. Several Action Plans had been developed to help overcome the issues identified.
(d) It was said that an event would take place where 40 Adult Social Care managers were to discuss CQC. The sessions would be led by Jenny Anderson whom Mr Smith thanked for her work on the assurance preparation.
(e) At a recent away day, it was discussed how Adult Social Care was becoming a regulated service from 1 April 2023. Mr Smith noted that there were nine quality statements, each of which would be assigned to an assistant director. Work had been done to find out how Adult Social Care in Kent measured up to these statements, there was a good understanding of how the services were operating and of the areas where improvements were required. The next stage would be to develop action plans for the targeted areas.
(a) In response to a question on further details on how Adult Social Care being a regulated service would look like. Mr Smith responded that The CQC was an independent regulator that would pass judgement on the Council's performance and would operate much like The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED). This would create a culture of continuous improvement. Mr Smith would bring further updates to the Cabinet Committee as this progressed.
(b) In response to a question regarding the setting for the Open Door Sessions. Mr Smith responded that the sessions were held on Microsoft Teams and 15-minute slots were offered. Due to the size of Kent, it was hard to meet in person. It was noted that efforts were still made to meet in person with front-line staff when possible.
(c) In response to a question about how much pressure Mr Smith and other corporate directors were able to put on Government and Cabinet Ministers so that they were aware of the scale of the challenges that were facing Adult Social Care in Kent. Mr Smith said that Helen Grant MP for Maidstone had been of help due to her contacts in government. Lobbying was ongoing and more resources had been made available as a result. Short-term funding arrangements over winter were welcomed but would not resolve the long-term problems. The cost of care was noted as the greatest challenge.