Mr Jason Oxley, Assistant Director Health and Care, Wirral Council introduced his report that described the approach that would be taken to the future commissioning of health, care and support services for people with a disability in Wirral. The report informed that nationally, there was a Transforming Care Programme which described the need to develop alternative support for people with a disability in order that they can receive the support that they need to live independently in their own homes and within their own communities with less of a focus on acute hospital based services. The report further informed that this brought forward an opportunity to develop an increased preventative offer.

The Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was apprised that work was underway to bring together a range of resources from Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Local Authority to create a single commissioner for Wirral. Working through formal shared arrangements and a Committee in Common, this body would ensure that the Council and the CCG could effectively deliver their Health and Care functions in a more joined up way. This body would be responsible for commissioning health, care and support services to meet the needs of people with a disability in Wirral (among other functions), and would contribute to delivering the All Age Disability Strategy, the Wirral Plan Pledges and the Transforming Care Programme agenda.

The report outlined some key areas where the Council intended to commission differently to both improve the offer to local people and to manage the increasing cost of adult social care.

Members questioned Mr Oxley on a number of key areas, with a primary focus on the following:

• Young adults with disability, transition arrangements, respite care / care arrangements when specialist residential schools are closed.

• Outcome of the exploration of opportunities for better sharing of information between all agencies in the partnership to provide more seamless and holistic support to disabled people and their families – deadline September 2016.

• Involvement / engagement with the organisation ‘Autism Together’, not listed in the documentation.

• Actions taken in the monitoring of, and response to, Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection reports for nursing homes and care homes.

• Protocols and procedures in place to protect individual service users from abuse / criminal neglect arising from lack of staff training, inadequate employment checks or excessive workloads.

Mr Oxley responded to the points raised, informing that improvements to transition arrangements were needed, and that there would be a focus on better care planning and a more joined up commissioning approach to support this group of people.. He added that if Members were aware of specific issues relating to individual cases he would be keen to hear about them in order to expedite improvements and/or address any issues.

Mr Oxley informed that at present about half of the registered care  homes on the Wirral were rated as 'Outstanding' or 'Good' with the other half being rated as “requires improvement” or “inadequate”, and that the Council and CCG have an integrated Quality Improvement Team that support care homes rated inadequate or requiring improvement to improve their standards.. He added that CQC inspections and local monitoring visits will continue throughout the year and the Council should ensure ongoing support to homes to achieve a 'Good' or 'Outstanding' grading in the future.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted that, in November 2017, Cabinet approved the creation of a Joint Strategic Commissioning Board which would be a ‘committee in common’; being two separate bodies but which sit together at the same time and place, each being a consultee to the other in their decision making. It was intended that the Board would lead service commissioning on behalf of the statutory bodies, focus on commissioning for outcomes in the delivery of health, wellbeing and care services; to ensure that they performed effectively and delivered to the appropriate quality standards.

The Chair requested that although it may be the case that the time lag between a CQC inspection, preparation of, and receipt by Scrutiny of the inspection report might mean that issues identified may already have been addressed, Members remained concerned that this might not be the so in every case. The Chair suggested that a Task and Finish Group or Panel be established to enable Overview and Scrutiny Members the opportunity to question Care Home Owner / Managers and Care Providers on their services.

Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were in full support of the proposal, and requested that actions be taken ahead of the annual Committee appointments to ensure this matter could be actioned swiftly as part of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme in the forthcoming Municipal Year.

The Chair confirmed that she would meet with the Committee Spokespersons to prepare arrangements for a Task and Finish Group to investigate Care Provision in the Borough.

Resolved – That

(1)  the report be noted; and

(2)  the Chair meet with the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Spokespersons to prepare arrangements for the establishment of a Task and Finish Group to investigate Care Provision in the Borough in the new Municipal Year 2018/19.