Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing is attached.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, presented the report which sought permission to commission eight General Nursing Discharge to Assess beds to form part of the wider Adult Discharge Schemes that will be available to support hospitals, residents and the health and social care system over the coming year. The beds would be funded via the Adult Social Care Discharge Grant and therefore not impact the Council’s Budget.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Agreed to commission eight Nursing Discharge to Assess beds at Heathlands Nursing Home, Prestwich for a period of 12 months at a cost of £552,578;

2.    Noted that this will be funded using Bury’s allocation of Adult Social Care Discharge Fund and Winter Resilience Monies and will therefore have no impact on the Care in the Community budget and that a procurement waiver will be required to approve the 12-month commission of this service; and

3.    Noted the update on residential intermediate care, step down dementia beds and the multi-disciplinary team.

Reasons for the decision:

·         The Council and NHS GM (Bury) have received £5.629m of Urgent and Emergency Care monies, which includes Bury Council’s allocation of Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, from the Department of Health and Social Care to support system flow, NHS waiting lists and rapid discharge from hospital. The commission of the beds above will ensure the Council spends the money in line with the DHSC criteria and support the people of Bury to leave hospital safer and earlier.

·         There are currently 29 commissioned Discharge to Assess and Intermediate Care beds in the borough, not including the Council’s own Intermediate Care Facility.

·         These beds have been consistently full and the failure to approve the commission will result in people remaining in hospital longer while waiting to have their long term needs assessed.

Other options considered and rejected:

An increased number of Nursing Discharge to Assess beds over and above the eight proposed in this report were considered but there was insufficient budget available.