Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

Chris Holley declared an interest.

No declarations were made.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree as an accurate record.

Panel agreed the Minutes of the meeting on 27 September 2022 as an accurate record of the meeting.

Under Matters Arising, Panel raised a query in relation to the public question on learning disabilities. Members queried how many people in Swansea are in the same situation as the person mentioned in the public question, and the types of accommodation people with these needs could go to.  Officers thought it was approximately 52 individuals in Swansea who are in the same situation but will confirm following the meeting.  Regarding types of accommodation, officers stated it is a whole mix of housing options, whether it is individual units where people are supported or supported living. Panel felt it would be useful to know what the Authority has been able to do for these individuals and the range of need on an individual or collective basis.  

Actions:

·       Panel to receive confirmation of number of individuals with Learning Disabilities in Swansea in the same situation, information on what the Authority has been able to do for them, and the range of need.    

Questions must be submitted in writing, no later than noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must relate to items on the agenda. Questions will be dealt with in a 10-minute period.

No questions were received.

Richard Davies, Strategic Manager Independent Living Team

Louise Gibbard, Cabinet Member for Care Services together with relevant officers attended to brief the Panel on the Authority’s response to WAO published recommendations following their review of direct payments across adult services in Wales in April 2022.

Discussion Points:

·       Panel pleased to hear that of the 10 recommendations, the Council is meeting its requirements and exceeding in some areas.

·       In relation to recommendation 1, the Panel requested to see the Carers and Practitioners’ leaflet that has been developed.  Agreed this will be circulated to the Panel once ready for publication.

·       Panel queried who checks if the leaflet is easy to read. Confirmed members of the Direct Payment Forum provide observation and feedback on all communication.

·       In relation to recommendation 2, Panel asked if wider care team have up to date knowledge of direct payments and understand how they can be used.  Heard that in relation to practitioners, Direct Payments Team liaise regularly with information sessions etc. but it is a slow process. DP team is producing some quantitative data but also hoping to increase their qualitative data ie telling people’s stories.  Panel in keen to see this qualitative data.    

·       Panel queried if Local Area Coordinators are involved.  Heard the DP team works very closely with LAC team particularly when identifying personal assistants and people who need support within the area. 

·       In relation to recommendation 9, Panel asked if the Service has a picture of the categories of users of DP services.  Informed the Panel has high level information on this in the Performance Monitoring Report and this can be broken down further if the Panel wishes. 

·       Panel queried how the Service captures everything that direct payments are used for, as it seems extremely flexible.  Cabinet Member responded that this is where qualitative data ie personal stories can be used, as it would be really helpful for people to share what they used direct payments for.

Actions:

·       Leaflet to be circulated to the Panel when ready for publication.

·       Personal stories of how DP are used to be shared with the Panel if and when available.

·       Information in Performance monitoring report on categories of users of DP services to be refined and shared with the Panel.

Amy Hawkins, Head of Adult Services and Tackling Poverty

Helen St John, Head of Integrated Community Services

Cabinet Member for Care Services and Heads of Service for Adult Services and Integrated Community Services briefed the Panel on this item and answered the Panel’s questions.   

Discussion Points:

·       The report highlights 4 unscheduled inspections and 1 scheduled inspection.  All inspections took place during Covid.

·       Care Inspectorate Wales found no non-compliance with regulations and no priority action notices were issued.  11 areas of improvement were identified across the different services and the Service has an action plan to work towards the areas of improvement.

·       Panel queried whether CIW were clear about the analytical framework being used for the inspection to compare one part of an organisation to another and one local authority with another, as there was little reference in the report to inputs, processes or outputs. Officers stated they could not comment for CIW but the Authority was inspected in the same framework as everywhere else and inspected on 4 areas compared to the regulations.  

·       Panel noted there was no dialogue in the report from CIW to indicate the extenuating external factors in play or being recovered from during the inspections.  Panel heard the Authority was inspected in same way as every other authority across Wales and all worked through the pandemic.  However, there was a lot of acknowledgement in the verbal debrief from CIW. 

·       Panel concerned about the point raised by CIW regarding medication and wanted clarification that it has been picked up and taken right across the board of all the establishments.  Officers reassured the Panel that robust processes and monitoring are in place on a weekly basis across all sites re medication administration.   

·       Panel stated that the problem with a lot of inspections is they are snapshots of what is happening and really need to have a number of them to have a truer picture across one to two years.  Panel feels the issues raised are minor compared to the overall care of the people looked at in the report.

David Howes, Director of Social Services

David Howes, Director of Social Services attended to brief the Panel on this item.

No questions were asked.

Panel discussed the work programme and noted the items scheduled for the next meeting.

Panel noted the item, Update on West Glamorgan Transformation Programme is scheduled for the meeting on 21 March 2023 and asked what ‘Complex Care’ is defined as.  Officers agreed to provide the definition to the Panel following the meeting.

Actions:

·       Definition of ‘Complex Care’ to be provided to the Panel.