Agenda and minutes

The Vice Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that, following the Chairman's recent accident, she would be Chairing this Scrutiny Panel until Cllr Wells' return.

The Panel was pleased to hear that Cllr Wells was progressing well and passed on their best wishes for his ongoing recovery.

Apologies had been received from Panel Members Cllr Bloore and Cllr Wells.  In addition it was noted that effective 16 May 2016, the new Cabinet Member for Health and Well-Being was Cllr Smith, who was also unable to attend.

Cllr Griffiths declared an interest as her daughter worked in the care profession.

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 22 May 2015). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

Previously circulated

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 March 2016 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Attending for this Item were:

Directorate of Adult Services and Health

Frances Howie, Interim Director of Public Health

Karen Wright, Public Health Consultant

Rob Morris, Market Management and Research Manager

Mandy Barnett, Business Analyst

Invited Witnesses

Phil Talbot, Chief Executive, Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Sandra Rohan Kickham, Carer Representative, Worcestershire Association of Carers

The Interim Director of Public Health talked through the implementation and development of the 'Your Life, Your Choice' website since its launch 12 months ago.  Designed to be a resource for people looking to access adult social care and health information and services, the number of listed providers had increased from 25 in June 2015 to the current 207, with the number of services being provided increasing from 161 to 836 over the same period.

It was noted that although the figures were increasing, the Directorate was receiving ongoing feedback to suggest that the website was difficult to navigate and was not very user friendly.

In response, Officers were working to address the concerns and the current website could be best described as a work in progress prior to an upcoming relaunch.

Alongside the information, it was hoped that individuals would be able to complete initial assessment forms online, releasing Officer time to deal with more complex cases.  It was noted that 384 forms had been completed in the last five months.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were raised:

·         The Panel acknowledged that no system was perfect from the outset and recognised that the website would evolve over time.  It was understood that many older people, the main group of users, would need time to adjust to the use of online resources

·         It was reported from numerous sources that the website was difficult to navigate and more information was likely to be available than the user found in their online session

·         Pricing information was a further area which was unclear to the individual and the question of 'who will pay for the service?' remained unanswered whilst online

·         Whilst in development, consultation and testing with user groups was undertaken and moving forward, further testing and training is planned.  It was hoped that stakeholders would continue to provide feedback to improve the site

·         The Carer Representative agreed that users found the website difficult to navigate and it was aimed at individuals who were computer literate, but added that the design of the pages suggested that the site was for older people only and many users did therefore not navigate any further than the homepage.  It was suggested that making the pages more fun and interesting, alongside more education to use it, would be welcome by many users

·         Monitoring is constantly undertaken and regular reports are discussed by the Senior Managers

·         The Chief Executive of Age UK (H&W) was asked how they could help the Council move forward and responded with some of the initiatives already taking place across the County, including 'Computer Café's', providing a 'Digital Co-ordinator' in each District and training  ...  view the full minutes text for item 223.

Attending for this Item were:

Sheila Blagg, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care

Elaine Carolan, Lead Commissioner for Learning Disabilities

By way of presentation, the Lead Commissioner reminded the Panel of the background to the changes in Learning Disability Day Services, from the original decision being taken in July 2011 to pilot a new approach, to the decision in November 2012 to implement it across the County.  As a result of the changes, the consultation on the use of appropriate buildings was undertaken in two stages during 2013 and 2014 with the completion of the whole programme expected to be in October 2016.

The Model was based on three pathways:

·         RESOURCE CENTRES – providing support for people with profound and multiple disabilities and complex needs in specialist centres

·         GOLD – specialist support for those people 'growing older' including those with dementia

·         CONNECT – community based support with drop in services and improved access to employment and training opportunities

It was explained that the expectations of people with learning disabilities and their carers was changing and individuals wished to be more independent, access mainstream opportunities and be part of their communities.  An increasing number of people with learning disabilities were living in supported housing, a subject which the Members have considered in the past.

In 2013, 298 individuals were accessing day services.  This figure dropped to 270 in 2014 and now the figure is around 244 Service Users.

Extensive consultation was undertaken with Service Users, Carers and Staff using various methods of engagement, which resulted in a number of themes being highlighted, mainly:

·         Concerns about not being able to maintain and sustain friendships

·         The distances individuals with more complex needs would have to travel to the Resource Centres

·         Family Carers were concerned that the changes would impact on their work or home life

·         The cumulative effect of the changes would have.

When determining which buildings would be utilised a number of factors were taken into consideration, including affordability, location, needs, safety, internal space and transport.  These discussions resulted in the following changes:

Wyre Forest

Connect – Blackwell Street, Kidderminster

Resource Centre / GOLD – Orchard Street, Kidderminster

Decommissioned – Offmore Community Centre

Redditch

Connect – Halcyon Centre

Decommissioned – Matchborough Community Centre

Bromsgrove

Connect / Resource Centre / GOLD – Wendron Centre

Malvern

Connect – The Cube

Decommissed – Malvern SEC

Worcester City

Connect – Fish Street

Resource Centre / GOLD – Cherry Orchard

Pershore

Resource Centre – Three Springs

Evesham

Connect – Evesham Library

Decommissioned – Evesham Day Centre

Droitwich

Connect – Droitwich Library

Decommissioned – Kingfields

In the ensuing discussion, the following key points were made:

·         The Carer Representative spoke positively about the transition process, despite huge concerns when the changes were announced.  Praise for the Staff involved was high and consultation was wide ranging and inclusive

·         There was a series of specific issues in relation to certain buildings and Officers reported that these were being addressed.  It was unfortunate that modifications were not completed in a timely manner,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 224.

The Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager reminded the Panel that the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board agreed a suggested 2016/17 work programme which was subsequently approved by Council on 12 May 2016.

Members were supportive of the topics agreed, however, following the issues discussed at this meeting, wished to add updates on:

·         Supported Living

·         'Your Life Your Choice' website

·         Employment/Apprentice opportunities.

Cllr Griffiths thanked everyone for their attendance and participation.