Agenda item

The Panel considered the draft Adult Social Care Local Account 2013/14, which was a tool used by Councils across the country to assess how well adult social care services were performing and set out achievements and future priorities.

The Local Account utilised the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) which was a national set of indicators allowing comparison of performance across authorities.  The 2013/14 report set out progress against the following three priorities:

• Enhancing Quality of Life – the majority of indicators for Slough showed improvement, however, they remained below the regional and national benchmarks.  These were concerns about the relatively low proportion of people using services who felt they had sufficient social contact and addressing issues of social isolation were a priority for 2014/15.
• Delaying and reducing the need for care and support – most indicators showed improvement and Slough’s performance was generally above regional and national benchmarks.  The proportion of older people who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement/rehabilitation services was 100% and Slough was the best performing in the country as a result of joint working between health and social care services.
• Ensuring that people had a positive experience of care and support – Slough was generally in line with the national averages.  The proportion of people who used services who felt safe had improved very significantly since the previous year and was on a par with comparators.

Members discussed a number of specific points highlighted in the report, including the issue of social isolation as the ASCOF data revealed that 37.2% of people using services in Slough felt they has as much social contact as they would like compared to 45.2% across the South East.  The Panel felt that a cohesive, integrated strategy on personalisation across the Council was required to ensure opportunities to increase social contact were maximised.  Officers responded that a greater degree of joint working between departments was work in progress and they reiterated that reducting feelings of isolation for service users had been identified as a priority area for 2014/15.  The Panel also discussed residential housing facilities and the translation of information materials to service users and carers.  It was noted that careful consideration was given to the methods of communication to ensure it effectively reached all parts of the local community.

Members felt that the document was well presented and accessible and thanked officers for the hard work that had contributed to the performance achieved.  The Panel then approved the Local Account for 2013/14 and agreed that it be made available for wider publication.

Resolved –  That the Local Account 2013/14 be approved for wider publication.