Agenda item

Cabinet received an update report setting out recent developments in adult social care, both locally and nationally, and plans for the next period. The main highlights were:-

·       Demand for adult social care continued to grow across the country due to rising life expectancy and the changing needs and preferences of service users.

·       Updates on developments since May including the Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care government White Paper and the findings of the Hewitt Review into Integrated Care Systems.

·       Although originally planned for 2023, the CQC was yet to publish the programme of formal assessments. However, the Council was prioritising ongoing preparations to ensure readiness for the future CQC assessment in Buckinghamshire.

·       Staff turnover remains high at 28.3% during 2022/23 and the sector was particularly challenged in retaining younger staff.

·       Local public health and care sector organisations have established the Buckinghamshire Executive Partnership (BEP). A key element of their work was overseeing delivery of the Buckinghamshire Health and Care Integration programme. The programme’s focus was to support speedy discharge when a person was fit to leave hospital and to provide rehabilitation and therapy support to enable people to regain as much of their former independence as possible reduce the likelihood of readmission.

RESOLVED –

That the latest developments in relation to Adult Social Care both locally and nationally be NOTED.

Cabinet received an update report setting out recent developments in adult social care, both locally and nationally, and plans for the next period. The main highlights were:-

·       Demand for adult social care continued to grow across the country due to rising life expectancy and the changing needs and preferences of service users.

·       Updates on developments since May including the Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care government White Paper and the findings of the Hewitt Review into Integrated Care Systems.

·       Although originally planned for 2023, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was yet to publish the programme of formal assessments. However, the Council was prioritising ongoing preparations to ensure readiness for the future CQC assessment in Buckinghamshire. There had been pilot local authorities who had been inspected by the CQC.

·       Staff turnover remained high at 28.3% during 2022/23 and the sector was particularly challenged in retaining younger staff.

·       The Housing Strategy was a key piece of work and meeting the needs of residents including supported living care.

·       Reference was made to the Autism Strategy on which the Council had recently consulted on.

·       Local public health and care sector organisations had established the Buckinghamshire Executive Partnership (BEP). A key element of their work was overseeing delivery of the Buckinghamshire Health and Care Integration programme. The programme’s focus was to support speedy discharge when a person was fit to leave hospital and to provide rehabilitation and therapy support to enable people to regain as much of their former independence as possible to reduce the likelihood of readmission.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing discussed the challenges which were being faced locally and nationally with increases in demand and an ageing demographic. There was a difficult social care market with many providers struggling, inflationary increases, staffing costs and increases in the national living wage. These issues were beyond the direct influence of the Council. All possible mitigating actions were being taken to manage demand in the market.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·       The number of people working in adult social care was larger than those working in the NHS. There were 3 million people working in the NHS and social care. Staff turnover was high at 28%. There were 128 care homes in Buckinghamshire. The Cabinet Member reported that there were a large number of low paid workers in this area who were lost to the retail sector which was paying higher wages. 63% of new starters worked in social care.

·       The Council was not a major care provider and therefore relied on external providers. A question was asked on how the Council tapped into the external market to obtain the best value. The Cabinet Member reported that there were strong local connections with providers through the integrated commissioning team. There was a sophisticated framework for this called a dynamic purchasing vehicle, which provided a broad range of services. The Council obtained intelligence on local providers and also linked in with the CQC. The Corporate Director also reported that costs were benchmarked and monitored carefully including ensuring that quality services were being provided.

·       The Corporate Director thanked staff for the great work being carried out on discharges including occupational therapists.

RESOLVED –

That the latest developments in relation to Adult Social Care both locally and nationally be NOTED.