Agenda and minutes

None.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 17 May 2018). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

Previously circulated

The Minutes of the meeting on 21 March 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman

In attendance for this item were :

Avril Wilson, Interim Director of Adult Services

Elaine Carolan, Strategic Commissioner of Adult Services and Health

Amanda Blackton, Commissioning Manager for Adult Services

Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care

Speakeasy N.O.W – Gail Greer, Expert Members Co-ordinator and Rachel Barret, Health Checkers Project Assistant

Worcestershire association of Carers – Mel Smith, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

The Strategic Commissioner of Adult Services talked through the presentation which was included in the agenda papers. The presentation included context and budgets for Learning Disability (LD) Services, information about packages of care, strategies and plans, details of the pre-consultation engagement on Day Services and Replacement Care, and next steps.

Replacement Care came under the budget for Residential and Nursing Care, although some was also provided as part of the Shared Lives scheme, with some examples spanning 20-30 years. The Council had invested in recruiting providers for Shared Lives provision, the model was financially very viable and recent take up was encouraging.

The numbers of people opting to receive direct payments were steadily increasing, in particular younger people coming through the transition from Children's Services.

LD strategies and plans focused on people being treated as individuals and being part of their communities; therefore organisations such as Speakeasy N.O.W and the People's Parliament were very important.

The six big aims were reflected in the sub groups of the LD Partnership Board;  to stay healthy, live well, have a place to live, have a job, stay safe, to have the right support for carers, and also to prepare for adulthood.

It was known that for those with learning disabilities, people were still treated differently and that there was still far too big a gap in average life expectancy (15 years). The Acute Hospitals Trust had done a lot of work to address this. The aim of having a job had recently been extended to those with autism. The officers reported an increasing need to support carers to be able to continue their support for family members into adulthood, which involved working with colleagues in Children's Services also.

A lot of positive work was taking place with Supported Living schemes, giving people stability, independence and the chance to live in their own flat for the first time. The Council was doing lots of work looking for suitable sites, which could be hard at times.

Referring to the pre-consultation engagement on Day Services and Replacement Care, the officers highlighted the willingness of family carers to engage. The Directorate and Speakeasy N.O.W had proactively made contact with carers and service users. Feedback had been positive and people had not felt the Council was presenting them with a 'done deal'; this was a change from previous experiences of service change. Meetings with staff had brought new ideas and had been 'a joy'.

The co-production approach was underlined, which for example had led to changes in the first report to Cabinet. It was envisaged that the follow up report to Cabinet would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 280.