Decision details

A placements project group was set up in early 2010 to identify efficiencies in relation to residential and nursing home placements and in relation to packages of care and support for service users helped to live at home.  The project group also identified a lack of consistency of approach across different operational teams, for example in relation to team custom and practice, and in relation to the level of resources allocated to individual service users.  The policy framework and practice guidance was developed in order to smooth out inconsistencies and to support practitioners in taking a more equitable approach to commissioning placements and packages for service users.

The Cabinet member agrees that the Placements & Packages Policy for Adult Social Care should be adopted for use by all relevant staff operating within the Community Health & Social Care Service.

In addition to the issues highlighted by the placements project group, previous guidance set out in the council’s adult social care manual had become outdated, particularly in relation to the changes brought about by Putting People First, the advent of Personal Budgets, the adoption of a single contributions policy and the development of a single panel for decision making and resource allocation.

No other options were considered as the concerns already highlighted dictated the requirement for a clear policy framework