Agenda and minutes

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Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall

Contact: Kelly Barnett 

Items
No. Item

HSC.1

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of Health Scrutiny Committee are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the agenda and if so, to formally declare that interest.

Minutes:

Councillor Pilkington declared a personal interest in any item relating to Manchester Foundation Trust as he was employed by them as a fundraiser for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

 

HSC.2

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 336 KB

The minutes from the meeting held on 13th April 2021 are attached for approval.

Minutes:

It was agreed:

 

That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 13 April 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

HSC.3

MATTERS ARISING

Minutes:

Councillor Walmsley referred to a question that had been asked of Dr Schryer in relation to prescription charges for women who required two courses of antibiotics to treat water infections. Councillor Walmsley asked whether an answer was available.

 

Will reported that an answer had been received and would be circulated to the Members of the Committee.

HSC.4

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Questions are invited from members of the public present at the meeting on any matters for which this Committee is responsible.

Minutes:

Debbie Walker, a Bury resident and mother of a young adult with complex needs asked in relation to the all age disability service that was being proposed whether there was a working group for parents/carers of young people who were transitioning from Children’s Social care into Adults Social Care that would take on board the views of a young person. Debbie explained that the transition that her family had experienced hadn’t been good and had been difficult.

 

Adrian Crook, Director of Adult Social Services and Community Commissioning explained that he was aware that there was room for improvement and a recent consultation exercise had been undertaken to look into this issue. Adrian explained that the Council had been exploring co production and if the consultation work highlighted that this was desirable then work would be undertaken to bring together options for improving services, one of which may be integrating the assessment and social work functions. It was explained that this would be done working alongside colleagues from Children with disabilities services, the CCG, adult social work and their CCG equivalents. Adrian stated that there would be working groups looking into what should be done better or differently.

 

Debbie also explained that she had attended a meeting recently where an officer, Jon Hobday had been listening into the meeting, Jon had picked up on some issues that she had raised and had taken those issues and had set up some reasonable adjustments to help. Debbie stated that this was just from a comment and sometimes all that was lacking was communication. She had asked that Jon be thanked for the help he had provided.  

 

HSC.5

MEMBER QUESTION TIME

A period of up to 15 minutes will be allocated for questions and

supplementary questions from members of the Council who are not

members of the committee. This period may be varied at the discretion of

the chair.

Minutes:

Councillor Pilkington referred to the Autism Strategy for England and asked whether this had been launched yet.

 

Adrian reported that the strategy had not yet been launched.

 

Councillor Lewis asked whether there had been any further discussion in relation to the decision taken around Spurr House.

 

It was reported that this issue was on the agenda for this evening’s meeting.

HSC.6

COVID-19 UPDATE

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health to provide a verbal update at the meeting.

Minutes:

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health reported that case rates of covid within the borough were rising again after plateauing with the most recent figures being just under 600 per 100,000 which was high. The ranking against Greater Manchester and England was falling but this was because case rates in other areas were going up faster.

 

Evidence was showing that the current spile could be attributed back to the Euro 2020 football tournament and also due to restrictions being lifted in England.

 

Transmission was linked to a wide range of settings and distributed across the borough and mostly among young adults.

 

Lesley reported that hospital admissions were rising, and this was expected to continue. The system was already highly pressured with non covid related illnesses and backlog. It was likely that there would be better outcomes and shorter stays. There had been no Covid related deaths reported over the last week.

 

Lesley stated that it would be hard to predict what will happen next, but it was anticipated that there would be a peak in cases towards the end of July with hospital admissions up by mid August. The case rates would come down more slowly as previously as when there had been a surge in the past this had been quickly followed by a lockdown. A further surge in cases was also expected in Autumn.

 

It was also reported that the potential for long covid should be recognised and the impact that this will have on the communities across the borough as well as other issues such as business continuity.

 

Lesley asked that everybody continue to be cautious and wear masks where possible and carry on with hand washing and social distancing and undertaking regular testing.

 

The vaccination uptake was at 80% amongst adults for first dose and 64% for second doses.

 

Uptake for the over 40’s age group was good but not so good for younger age groups.

 

Work was being carried out to help people feel motivated to have the vaccination. Convenience was an issue that had been considered so evening sessions had been put in place as well as pop up sessions.

 

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following points were raised:

 

  • Councillor Birchmore asked about deaths in care homes and the figures relating to Bury being higher that some larger boroughs in Greater Manchester and asked what the reason for this was.

 

Lesley Jones explained that Gorsey Clough Care Home had established a dedicated unit within the home that supported Covid patients following discharge from hospital and allowed them to see their families at the end of their life and prevent discharge into other care homes. This provision helped prevent onward transmission in other care homes and provide a comfortable end of life with their family around them.

 

Adrian Crook explained that this was a decision that was made very early on in the pandemic to commission care for Covid positive people that had been identified as being at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.6

HSC.7

ADULT CARE ANNUAL COMPLAINTS REPORT FOR 2019 - 2020 pdf icon PDF 476 KB

Adrian Crook, Director of Adult Social Services and Community Commissioning to present the Adult Care Annual Complaints Report 2019-2020 to the Committee. Report and presentation attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Adrian Crook presented the Adult Care Annual Complaints Report which  provided members of the Health Scrutiny Committee with details of information relating to Adult Social Care Services.

 

The report relates to the period 1st April 2019 – 31st March 2020, and provides comparisons between previous years, as well as detailing the nature, scope and scale of some of the complaints received.

 

It was explained that the council is required to operate a separate Statutory Complaints and Representations procedure, in accordance with the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 which was laid before Parliament on the 27th February 2009 and came into effect on 1st April 2009. 

 

The complaints mentioned in this report typically relate to issues where customers, their families or carers feel that the service they have received have not met their expectations.  In these cases, the Council will always have endeavoured to resolve any concerns or dissatisfaction before a formal complaint has been received.  Complaints, therefore, usually arise when the customer does not agree with the Council’s interpretation of events or, in some cases, where policy delivers an outcome which they do not agree with.

 

Within the regulations which govern the complaints process, the Council adopts a flexible approach which prioritises local resolution.  However, where complainants remain dissatisfied, they have the option to take their case to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

 

 

The Complaint Procedure is not intended for dealing with allegation of serious misconduct by staff.  These are covered by and dealt with through the Council’s separate disciplinary procedures.

 

Adrian had sent a summary in a presentation form to all Committee Members. It was explained that timescales had been moved by Government and therefore the report related to 2019/2020 before the pandemic.

 

Adrian asked that thanks to Louise Carroll be recorded for her hard work and dedication in supporting the complaints procedure.

 

The total number of complaints received in 2019/2020 has slightly reduced from the previous two years - 67 in 2017/18 and 74 in 2018/2019.  Therefore, although the way services are being delivered has changed significantly and service pressures have increased for the department, the figure for 2019/2020 indicates that customers have complained less about the services they have received.

 

Common themes were highlighted including struggles with communication and the quality of care/services.

 

212 compliments had been received mostly relating to Choices for Living Well, Intermediate Care Reablement/Killelea

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised: -

 

  • Councillor Brown referred to paragraph 8.1 of the report and the increase in the figures relating to Choices for Living Well, Intermediate Care Reablement/Killelea.

 

It was explained that this figure referred to the number of compliments received. Complaints relating to this service had been recorded as 7 this year and 6 the previous year. The service works wit on average over 300 customers per month.

 

  • Councillor Lewis asked whether access to services remained the same throughout the pandemic?

 

Adrian Crook explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.7

HSC.8

PROPOSED SAVING OPTIONS FOR ADULT SOCIAL CARE: OUTCOMES OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION pdf icon PDF 174 KB

Adrian Crook, Director of Adult Social Services and Community Commissioning to present the proposed saving options for Adult Social Care: Outcomes of the Public Consultation report to the committee. Report and appendices attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Adrian Crook presented a report setting out the outcomes of the public consultation in relation to the proposed saving options for Adult Social Care.

 

It was explained that as a result of the reductions in public spending and the impact of the recent pandemic, Bury Council must reduce its spending significantly over the coming years. The council’s overall aim is to keep providing the current level of service but find less expensive and better ways of doing this. 

 

Over the next three years Adult Social Care (ASC) propose to make savings of just over £12 million out of the current ASC budget of £52 million. This will be achieved in a number of ways: looking at what and how ASC buy care and support for those who need it, transforming services and working towards a multi-generational disability service.

 

As a large part of the Adults Social Care budget (£12,393,409 per annum) is spent on Persona Care and Support Limited (Persona), this contract has had to be reviewed and reduced to help achieve the savings. The current savings target for Persona is £2.5m over two financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, which equates to just over 20% of the Persona budget. Adults Social Care are working with Persona to address the consequences of the financial challenge

 

Given some of the proposals may have a direct impact on current and future Persona customers, a public consultation was undertaken. This report outlines the details, findings, and recommendations from the public consultation.

 

The public consultation focussed on five elements. 

 

  • Reduce the number of unused places in the day care services, close Pinfold Lane Centre and relocate the dementia day service to a designated area at Grundy.

 

  • Reduce the number of unused places in the short stay residential care service, close Spurr House leaving Elmhurst open for short stay residential care.

 

  • Develop a multigenerational disability service therefore providing one assessment and care management service for all customers whatever their age, concentrating on the needs and strengths of the individual, not their disability and offering seamless transition to adulthood. 

 

  • Questions about participants use of Adult Social Care transport to inform future policy development.

 

  • An opportunity for people to suggest any alternative saving suggestions they may have. 

 

A six-week public consultation was undertaken starting Monday the 24th May 2021 concluding on Friday 2nd July 2021. Several methods were used to try to maximise the opportunity to capture views of people who use Persona services, their families and carers, our partners, along with the public and future users.

 

It was reported that the report had been presented to Cabinet on 21 July and the following proposals had been approved:

 

Proposal 1 – day care 

• As proposed reduce the number of unused places in the day care service. Close Pinfold Lane Centre and relocate the dementia day service to a designated area at Grundy. 

 

Proposal 2 – short stay/ respite 

• As proposed reduce the number of unused places in the short stay service, closing Spurr House leaving  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.8

HSC.9

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE pdf icon PDF 538 KB

Kez Hayat, Commissioning Programme Manager to present an update on mental health. Presentation attached.

Minutes:

Kez Hayat introduced himself and explained that he was the Mental Health Programme Lead at Bury CCG/OCO and lead on Mental Health provision in Bury. Kez explained that the last time he had attended the Health Scrutiny Committee was just before the pandemic had hit. At that time the Thriving in Bury Strategy had been drafted and was about to be implemented, this didn’t happen at that time as priorities changed significantly in relation to the effect that the pandemic was having on mental health both locally and nationally. Guidance from NHS England in relation to the pandemic was integrated into the services offered and provided. Support and guidance was sought from a number of different partners including the voluntary and faith sectors.

 

It was reported that all mental health services including clinical and voluntary and faith services continued to operate during the pandemic and despite the pressures on the staff no services shut during this period which was a testament to the staff supporting them.

 

The digital services and support that was available was well received and worked well.

 

As lockdown restrictions had begun to be lifted, services were starting to see an increase with mental health related issues but it was felt that the mental health service provision in Bury was in a good position to be able to cope. Work was being carried out in partnerships across Greater Manchester to provide support.

 

Work was ongoing to develop pathways and it was reported that the next six months will be challenging and additional resources may be required to support services and to provide more help.

 

 

Kez reported that he would be more than happy to attend a future meeting to provide an update,

 

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

 

  • Councillor Pilkington referred to inequalities in services provided by the voluntary sector that there may be across the borough between areas of affluence and deprived neighbourhoods and asked what was being done to ensure that services were accessible and equitable across the whole borough.

 

Kez explained that information was available in relation to neighbourhoods. He reported that services weren’t commissioned at a place based level rather than neighbourhoods. Going forward the work that hade been carried out in relation to localities and neighbourhoods would allow for services to be commissioned closer to neighbourhoods. The Living Well Model will be the bridge between those that are doing well and thriving and those that need support. This will be provided by specialist community teams and not just clinical but socioeconomic support as well.

 

  • Carol Birchmore asked how a person was referred to then receive support.

 

Kez explained that there were a few referral processes, most would be through a GP into secondary care and community services. There were also direct referrals which would be low level support which could be accessed over the phone.

 

Adrian also explained that if someone Googled Bury Mental Health or Bury Healthy Minds all  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.9