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The Assistant Director of Integrated Services and Commissioning presented the report of the Director of Health and Strategic Commissioning which provided a performance report in relation to Adult Social Care and Public Health. The report was designed based on discussion with Members through working group activity in December 2022. Areas of significant interest in the report were highlighted. A growth in the number of people supported by the Adult Social Care Department to over 9600 reflected the growth in the demographic. Members were reassured that there was a seven percent vacancy rate in the care home market with availability in care homes at all categories of care within Wirral.  It was reported that the new direct payment service was to go live in mid-January 2025. There was an ambition to continue to grow the number of people in receipt of Direct Payments so that they could direct their own care.

It was highlighted that there had been a continued increase in domiciliary care packages and, many of these were high level packages of care where the Council were supporting the ICB with continuing healthcare. The number of people in receipt of assistive technology had increased to over 5200 through the Wirral Independence Commission. 85percent of the transfer from analogue to digital equipment had been completed and was on track to completed by December 2024.

It was noted that there had been an increase in the numbers of people receiving extra care as Sycamore House had recently opened and the Council were in the handover period of Spinnaker House which is a 102 bed scheme in Rockferry.

The Care Quality Commission ratings of those care homes that required improvement or were inadequate were reported and the associated outcomes of PAMMS assessments.  58 care homes were rated good and 32 care homes were rated requires improvement and CQC re-inspections were awaited. In the meantime, a digital PAMMS tool was being used and of the thirty two providers that required improvement, it was reported that twenty of them now had a PAMMS rating of good and there were seven with a PAMMS rating of excellent. There were still five care homes with requires improvement plans which were checked on a monthly basis by quality improvement practitioners.

Members requested a workshop regarding the criteria for CQC inspections and the PAMMS tool. Members also asked questions about the correlation between the PAMMS tool and the CQC ratings and about dementia nursing and capacity in care homes. In response to a Member question about the criteria for place allocation it was clarified that the criteria was being reviewed for allocations into extra care schemes.

A visit to Spinnaker House would be organised for Members.

Members asked questions about reablement and it was explained that since the new NHS Homefirst Service had been introduced there had been less demand for the Council reablement service provision. It was clarified to Members that market sufficiency and models of care could be looked at to consider the best outcomes for people and the population of Wirral could be looked at to forecast possible future demand. It was noted that a model that promoted prevention and admission avoidance would have a beneficial impact on the challenge faced by the Integrated Care Board to reduce the cost of the acute system.

Resolved – That the content of the report be noted.