Agenda item

67.  Update Report on the Reconfiguration of the Borough's Activities Offer for People with Learning Disabilities

The Acting Head of Adult Social Care updated the Panel on the progress that had been made in reconfiguring the borough’s activities offer for people with learning disabilities. As part of the wider Learning Disabilities Change Programme, the reconfiguration aimed to provide enhanced community based opportunities for people with learning disabilities. The Elliman Centre has closed on the 1^st January 2017 and the Capital Strategy Board had awarded £826,000 to refurbish the buildings of Phoenix and Priors. The report detailed services being accessed by users of the three centres. The needs of each service user had been reviewed to ensure that those who required building based services continued to receive this support from either Phoenix or Priors and others were accessing the wider range of community based activity that was provided.

Members asked a number of questions and raised the following points during the course of this discussion:

·  Individual support plans- Individuals had a support plan that reflected their personal wishes, needs and aspirations.

·  Savings- the saving of £347,000 had been made by deleting vacant posts and making greater use of community facilities.

The Panel asked about the overall feedback from service users and officers responded that although it was early, that the signs were promising and people welcomed the focus of choice, variety, control and independent living.

·  Service User Feedback- There were various ways of reporting feedback which included letters and feedback forms from carers, parents, service users which were uploaded to case files and reviewed by the individual social workers involved with the client. There were also formal reviews of progress carried out every 6 months by the Council which assessed what was working well and any changes to the service user’s needs.

·  What control measures were in place to ensure that the refurbishments at Phoenix & Priors remained within the anticipated budgets and time frames? There was reliance upon the asset management team to deliver the building work on time and within budget. There had been some minor delays in relation to the work however there were monthly meetings of the LD Programme Board at which progress was monitored. After discussing, the Panel agreed in support of the escalation for the refurbishments to the Capital Strategy Board.

·  Information sharing protocols in place for local business and voluntary services- There are information sharing protocols in place, however some service users are limited in mental capacity due to their learning disabilities and can make unwise choices. It was discussed that there was a tumultuous balance between risk and safety when disclosing particular information.

The Panel discussed feedback mechanisms from service users and whether they would be able to have an opportunity to discuss this directly at a future meeting including input from individual service users regarding their own experiences over the past year. The Director of Adult Social Care advised that a follow up report one year on would provide Members with a realistic overview of the inputs of the reconfiguration from service users.

A Member raised the wider issues of monitoring, quality of care provision, the respective roles of the Care Quality Commission and Healthwatch were discussed. It was agreed that a report on quality be considered by the Panel at its meeting in October 2017.

Resolved-   (a)That the report be noted.

  (b) That a future update be provided to the Panel in January    2018 including a survey and feedback from service users.

  (c) That the Panel support the escalation of the refurbishment of    Priors and Phoenix day care centres to the Capital Strategy    Board.

  (d) That details of the refurbishment be circulated to all Panel     Members.

  (e) A Member raised the wider issue of monitoring and quality of    care provision and the respective roles of  the Care Quality     Commission and Healthwatch were discussed. It         was agreed that a report on quality be considered by the      Panel at its meetings in October 2017.