10:15
The Director for Social & Community Services will give a verbal update on key issues.
Minutes:
The Director for Social & Community Services gave an update on:
National developments:
The Dilnott Commission on Long Term Care, originally due to report in July this year is now likely to be reporting earlier in May and so likely be available for discussion for at the June Adult Services Scrutiny Committee meeting.
The Health & Social Care Bill – Oxfordshire is an early implementer for GPs Consortia and for the Health & Wellbeing Board. It was pointed out that there is an existing health and wellbeing body chaired by Cllr Arash Fatemian but that this will need to be modified to meet with the requirements of the new legislation. The new Board will be across all partners although is formally the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council to set up. The focus of the board will to be develop a local health and wellbeing strategy for Oxfordshire.
It has been confirmed that Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees are to be retained.
Clustering arrangements are now being implemented to manage the transition phase for the removal of Primary Care Trusts – for Oxfordshire this means Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire PCTs will be combined including a single Chief Executive and management team.
And on the following:
Local issues
Proposals on Day Opportunities for Older People were positively received by Cabinet when it met in November and the strategy is currently being implemented. It should be noted that there has been a change to tier 3 which had originally proposed that the health and wellbeing resource centres would be reduced from 8 to 7. However, in response to feedback during consultation, this proposal has now been reversed and the Centre in Wallingford will be retained.
Transport - service and resource planning assumes that Adult Social Care will cease to fund elements of the community transport service. This is as a result of the move towards personal budgets causing uncertainty over how people will want to spend their budgets. Further consultation is now being undertaken, and plans could involve investing in voluntary arrangements. Cabinet will be asked to make a final decision in September with proposals coming to Adult Services Scrutiny before that in June and it was agreed that the full consultation document would be available and alongside this an overview report that would be produced to give the main principles.
Carers – the new contract has been awarded to Age UK. The County Council will be working closely with provider organisations to ensure a smooth transition for both organisations and carers.
Oxfordshire Care Partnerships – the strategy is focused on ways to circumvent people from residential care by increased reliance on domiciliary care. The strategy also includes the development of extra care housing. There is a Cabinet decision tabled for April and so may be brought to either the June or September meeting of Adult Services Scrutiny Committee.
Formal proposals on Internal Home Support will also be brought to the Cabinet Committee in April.
Continuing health care – a briefing on the responsibilities of the NHS and the Local Authority for the assessment and provision of care has been sent to Cllr Larry Sanders in response to questions he raised at the October meeting. It was AGREED that this will be circulated to all Members on the Committee.