Agenda item

The Cabinet Member will update the Select Committee on any relevant issues. Select Committee members may ask questions on the update provided.

Councillor Vic Pritchard, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing addressed the Select Committee. A copy of the update can be found on their Minute Book and as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

Proposals to restrict access to three non-urgent services

He commented on how impressed he was in the way this issue was discussed at the CCG Board meeting and that the decisions taken were governed by the results of the public consultation.

World Social Work Day

20th March was World Social Work Day. Here in Bath and North East Somerset we have a highly skilled and committed workforce of social workers in both children’s and adult’s services, working tirelessly to protect, support and empower families and individuals across the region, often having to travel further afield, for instance to connect with family members or children in care.

Social workers are working in sometimes dangerous, fraught, extremely complex, and very often emotionally charged and challenging situations, but do so with skill, professionalism and compassion, sometimes in an extremely pressurised environment.

As many of you will know there has been recent recognition of this excellent work, for instance through the ‘Good’ OFSTED rating for our children’s services in 2017, being only one of two receiving this rating in the whole of the South West. Our adoption services were especially lauded, receiving an ‘outstanding’ rating.

Community Resource Centres

The reconfiguration of the three Community Resource Centres (located in Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Bath) is continuing.  The Council is investing £700,000 in improving the buildings and ensuring that they are able to support the provision of registered nursing care, high dependency residential care and specialist dementia care to the local population.

The CRCs are owned by the Council and provided by Sirona Care & Health.  Building works continue in the three CRCs and are due to be complete in August 2018.  Works include clinical treatment rooms, sluices and servery’s to bring the CRCs to a comparable standard to private sector care homes and support a new model of care with greater focus on provision of nursing and high dependency residential care services for people with a complex dementia and physical frailty.

It has not been necessary for any existing residents to move out of the CRCs whilst works are being undertaken and the new care model is being put in place.

Exam Stress Tips for Parents, Carers and students

With exam season fast approaching, the Public Health Team in B&NES has put together a handy information and advice list on exam stress for parents and carers. The sheet (attached) includes reference to useful websites, apps and telephone numbers that can also support students at this time of the year.

He commented on the issue raised recently at the Council meeting regarding a possible proposal by the RUH to create a wholly owned subsidiary. He said that he was a stakeholder governor of the RUH by virtue of his Cabinet Member position and that he had been present at an Away Day where this matter had been raised.

He informed the Select Committee that the Chair had invited a representative from the RUH to the meeting today, but that nobody was available as they already had a Board of Directors meeting in place. He added that this issue was due to be discussed further at that meeting.

The Director of Integrated Health & Care Commissioning added that the RUH Chief Executive had confirmed via email that no decisions had been taken yet and that staff have been engaged with as part of the process so far. She proposed that the Select Committee be updated on this matter at their May meeting and the RUH be invited to attend.

Councillor Lin Patterson commented that this was potentially a matter of great concern and said that no decision should be made without input from the Select Committee.

The Director of Integrated Health & Care Commissioning said that it would be helpful if the Select Committee were advised on their remit with regard to matters within the RUH.

Councillor Pritchard updated the Select Committee on an issue raised at the previous meeting on the subject of Community Equipment. He said that he had visited the depot in Midsomer Norton with Councillor Jackson and confirmed that all equipment is recycled where possible and is steam cleaned before being reallocated. He added that items can be collected from people’s homes as part of this service.

Councillor Jackson commented that the size of the depot may be an issue as it was the sight of equipment stacked up outside that brought the issue to the attention of the residents. She added that all of the equipment appeared to be from the RUH and not other facilities such as Paulton Hospital.

Councillor Sally Davis asked whether any work with care homes could be done to collect equipment.

The Director of Integrated Health & Care Commissioning said that the Community Equipment Service was under review and would feed these comments into the review. She added that the capacity of the equipment store will be assessed.

Councillor Dine Romero asked if the practise of ‘Warehousing’ (to place (a severely disabled person, a mentally ill person, an elderly person, etc.) in a large, impersonal institution) took place within B&NES.

The Director of Integrated Health & Care Commissioning categorically replied that this does not happen within B&NES.

The Chair thanked Councillor Pritchard for his update on behalf of the Select Committee.