Issue - meetings

This report provides an Adult Social Care Service update to the Panel on ASC performance measures, ASC commissioned services, ASC provider services and the report also includes an update on Public Health and the Community Wellbeing Hub.

The Director of Adult Social Care addressed the Panel and highlighted the following points from report.

Performance – December 2024

·  The latest National Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) data was published 1st January 2025. Of the 22 National measures B&NES performs better than the England average in 17 measures, better than the South West average in 18 measures and we are in best quartile in the country for 12 measures.

·  The number of people with long-term services funded by Adult Social Care (ASC) at the end of December 2024 was 1,844. This was an increase of 26 on the previous figure of 1,818 as of December 2023. The service has completed 688 Care Act Assessments and 53 Carers Assessments in the last 12 months. 80% of Care Act Assessments lead to a service being provided to the individual.

·  Occupational Therapy assessments continue to be a focus of high demand, receiving on average 85 new requests per month, robust management has seen the numbers waiting for assessment reducing from 247 people waiting to 201 people waiting, with 137 people waiting for an assessment from an Occupational Therapy Aide and 64 people waiting for an assessment from an Occupational Therapist; this is the lowest figure for 12 months. All referrals are risk rated and prioritised accordingly and people waiting have a point of contact should their needs become more urgent.

·  Our Mental Health teams continue to experience increased demand of approx. 10% more referrals month on month. Between April 24 and September 24, we received 244 referrals for detention under the Mental Health Act, with 197of those referrals accepted by the Approved Mental Health professionals for a full assessment. The AMHP team works with people of all ages, although the numbers remain relatively low in comparison with other age groups, we have seen a 50% increase in requests for under 16s to be detained under the Mental Health Act in the last 12 months.

Commissioning

·  On 11th November, the Council introduced a Strategic Commissioning Hub that has oversight and responsibility for implementing a new all-age commissioning model across the Early Help, Special Education Needs, Children and Adult Social Care portfolios. This strategic initiative is aimed at improving efficiency, standardising commissioning processes, and enhancing service delivery for the residents of B&NES. The design for a single team was based on 5 core principles; Start Well, Live Well, Age Well, Commercial and Quality Assurance.

Newton House

·  Newton House is a 5-bed house in Twerton owned and operated by Dimensions. It provides residential respite for families of adults with learning disabilities and/or autism, also known as short breaks. In January 2024 Dimensions identified that the service had become financially unviable. Following a review by the commissioning team, Dimensions decided to change the service provided at Newton House and sent a joint letter to families of the current service users advising of the planned change of use from February 2025. This was an error because alternative provision had not been identified for all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77