Agenda item

This item provides Committee Members with an opportunity to explore in more detail the current adult social care workforce, particularly within the social worker teams.

Presenters

Cllr Angela Macpherson, Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing

Jenny McAteer, Director of Quality, Performance and Standards

Papers

Report with three appendices

Appendix 1 – ASC Training Brochure

Appendix 2 – ASC Specialist Training Programme

Appendix 3 – ASC Progression Framework

The Chairman welcomed Jenny McAteer, Director of Quality, Performance and Standards and Elaina Quesada, Service Director, Adult Social Care (Operations), to the meeting.

The Chairman started by explaining that the recent Primary Care Network (PCN) inquiry raised concerns around staff recruitment and retention within the adult social care service One of the recommendations within the inquiry report was in relation to having named social workers to work alongside PCNs The response from adult social care said that it was not possible to have a named social worker due to team capacity and locality mailboxes were currently being used. 

During the discussion, Members raised the following questions.

·       A Member emphasised the importance of rostering, particularly when dealing with staff shortages. It was noted that staff performance was on track to be the best in the last three years. The team had gone through a restructure in June 2021, which created additional social work and occupational therapy capacity. Despite the challenges in wait times, people contacting the department were offered face-to-face appointments at community cafes, which were joined by other partners for more complex cases. The community cafes were located across the county to ensure residents could visit them locally.

·       A Member raised concerns around staff retention once they had obtained their qualifications. . Although some people had left following the service e restructure, there had been significant improvements in the service over the past two years, with some staff returning to the authority. Staff surveys had also had very positive responses. It was further noted that Buckinghamshire Council had a good multimedia presence.  Members suggested that contracts could be amended to ensure people who received their qualifications through the Council would remain in the authority for a certain period of time. It was noted that in the past two months, a memorandum of understanding had been signed by local authorities in the Southeast region that social workers leaving a local authority could not be employed by an agency for 6 months.

·       Members raised concerns about the number of agency staff, which made up around 50% of social workers overall. Ms Quesada explained that out of the 50 agency workers, 19 were not paid for by the Council but by the NHS. Compared to the workforce in the department overall, which equated to around 415 staff, 50 agency workers was a relatively small number. It was noted that there would always be a need for agency workers.

·       A Member asked about strategies and support that had been put in place to limit burnout in staff members. Ms Quesada explained that staff had regular supervision with their managers, and there were opportunities for teams to get together to reflect on and discuss work situations. A social work task force group was also in placeand the service had also appointed wellbeing champions. Responses to the together survey had been positive, with staff showing high levels of motivation and engagement. In addition, staff members on ASYE had support from the ASYE coordinator, and access to wider wellbeing support offered by the Council.

·       A Member raised concerns about remote working for social workers. Ms Quesada explained that social work assessments were carried out all over the country rather than just in Buckinghamshire. Residents who moved outside of the Buckinghamshire area remained in the Council’s care. Home working was primarily reserved for administrative duties, such as compiling assessment reports.

·       Members raised concerns around whether enough work was carried out with colleges and other educational institutions. Ms McAteer assured the Committee that despite the pandemic, much work had been carried out to increase partnership working with educational bodies, particularly Buckinghamshire New University. For example, an approved mental health programme had been launched in Buckinghamshire, which was the first programme in the country to be quality assured by Social Work England.

·       For the past two years, the Council had taken part in the social care cadet scheme, allowing people from any age to get into social work. Ms McAteer noted that feedback on the scheme had been received and collated as part of the annual principal social work report, which could be shared with the Committee.

ACTION: Jenny McAteer

·       A Member felt that it would be helpful to hold a Member briefing, following the service restructure, to outline who does what within ASC and where to access useful information on the service.

ACTION: Jenny McAteer

·       In response to a Member question, Ms Quesda confirmed that the council had not experienced any issues with the registration of social workers. It was further explained that inspections and registrations were managed nationally.

·       As a result of the success of community cafes, the number of referrals taking more than 28 days had dropped significantly in both social care and occupational therapy.

The Chairman thanked the presenters for their attendance and participation.