Agenda and minutes

Councillor Alan Thompson sent apologies.

None

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th Sept

 (AS3) and to note for information any matters arising from them

The minutes of November 13^th were signed and approved, subject to the clarification in Item 10 that the terms of reference of the workgroup will be reconsidered following the election in May.

None

10:00

John Jackson, Director for Social and Community Services, will give an update on local and national issues.

The Director for Social and Community Services discussed his attendance at the recent national Conference for Directors of Social Services. It was highlighted that despite recent ministerial changes, the political agenda for social care remains broadly similar, with an emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and care in the community. On the question of the likely implementation of Dilnot recommendations, the Director highlighted that there appeared to be differences of opinion within the government. The officer view remains that whilst the Dilnot recommendations would address an important source of inequality within the system, they will not resolve the issue of a future shortfall in funding as a result of demographic pressures.

The Director also discussed his recent attendance at a meeting of the Health Select Committee, which looked at the implications of the spending review on the health and social care system. It was AGREED that the Committee Officer would distribute the transcript of the meeting to members of this committee.

The Director made the following statement regarding the recent Panorama documentary on Winterbourne View aired on October 29^th:

“On 29^th October, Panorama ran a follow up to its previous piece on Winterbourne View, a hospital for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs.

The programme was put together to coincide with the sentencing of employees working at Winterbourne View, a facility run by a private company called Castlebeck, for offences committed and filmed by Panorama in 2011.

An inpatient facility in Wiltshire run by the Ridgeway Partnership (the Oxfordshire Learning Disability NHS Trust), Postern House was featured in the follow-up as two of the service users featured in the programme had spent time there.

Neither of the individuals featured in the Panorama programme are from Oxfordshire. However, as the county council commissions significant services from Ridgeway, it is important that we brief you on the content of the programme and on ongoing work that the county council undertakes to ensure these services meet high standards.

The programme did not suggest that there has been systematic unchallenged abuse at Postern House as in the case of Winterbourne View. However, the programme did make reference to incidents involving the two individuals which required investigation and action by Ridgeway.

The safety of service users is of the utmost importance. If concerns are raised about services purchased by us we investigate to ensure people are safe and being looked after properly. Oxfordshire County Council works with the NHS Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire PCT and our providers to ensure services for people with learning disabilities are of high quality and appropriate for the needs of the service users. Following the original exposure of abuse by Panorama, Oxfordshire reviewed its commissioning arrangements and has strengthened processes for pre-placement quality checks, tools for reviewing placements, and guidance for staff.

In Oxfordshire we have processes in place that regularly review adults with learning disabilities in inpatient hospital services. This includes monthly reviews of all patients, their care needs and their progress and an annual  ...  view the full minutes text for item 243/12

11:00

Sheila Browne and Mary Judge will deliver a report discussing the outcomes of recent visits to residential care homes (AS6a).

Adrian Chant, LINk Host manager, will give an update on other recent activities of the LINk (AS6b). This will include a verbal update on the action plan resulting from this year’s Hearsay event.

Mary Judge and Sheila Browne gave an overview of the work done by the LINk in visiting care homes in Oxfordshire. 30 volunteers visited 50 care homes across the county. All volunteers were CRB checked and given a clear set of guidelines on what to look for and how to conduct themselves during visits. Where concerns were raised a follow up visit took place.

The most persistent issue arising from conversations with service users and families was that it is often difficult or confusing when sourcing information about the options for care.

It was also found that there was sometimes a lack of awareness among users of the role of the Local involvement Network. It was felt that this emphasised the importance of Healthwatch establishing a strong profile early in their existence. It was emphasised that transition work was ongoing to this effect.

The committee were complementary of the quality of the project and the conclusions of the report.

The Deputy Director for Joint Commissioning distributed a note outlining the directorate’s response to the report’s findings. See below for full text:

“I welcome the report from the Local Involvement Network (LINk). 

I feel very strongly that we have a collective responsibility to ensure that older and vulnerable people are safe and experience good quality care in their old age. The responsibility for the quality of care that older people receive sits first and foremost with the service provider. The primary relationship is between the care home provider and the older person and we, along with CQC, health professionals, elected members, the community and the LINk have an important role in supporting that relationship, and in alerting should things go wrong. It is our aspiration to improve the quality of services that people are receiving in Oxfordshire and we have a great deal of work going with that aim in mind. The work of the LINk contributes to this overall plan. Later on in this agenda I will be reporting on the work that my contracts team carry out to assure the quality of services that we buy from care homes through our contract monitoring.

There are about 150 registered care homes in Oxfordshire; about 108 of these are care homes that provide services for older people. This translates into over 4,200 beds for older people - the Council buys about 1/3 of these.

The general approach that we are promoting is one that

·        to promote care homes as being a key part of the community;

·        to encourage providers to develop quality standards that are developed in line with the quality principles set out in the Social Care White Paper (eg start with the person, co-production, transparency, workforce etc);

·        encourage providers to seek feedback on their services.

We believe that by encouraging and fostering this relationship we can help to champion the needs of older people living in the area and promote good quality care and support.  It is for this reason I welcome the work that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 244/12

11:30

The committee are invited to view the video on the Older People’s Commissioning Strategy.

The committee viewed the video on the Joint Commissioning Strategy for Older People, produced in partnership with NHS officers.

Draft copies of the accompanying Joint Commissioning Strategy were distributed to the committee.

11:45

Sara Livadeas, Deputy Director for Joint Commissioning, will introduce a report on the development of a risk based approach to contract monitoring commissioned services (AS8).

The committee are invited to comment on the proposals.

Andrew Colling, Quality and Contracts Manager, and Virginia Moffatt, Unit Manager for LD Commissioning, introduced the report on Contract Monitoring.

The committee were informed that the development of a risk-based approach to contract monitoring is a work in progress and forms part of a wider approach to ensuring quality. Whilst all contracts will receive an annual contract review, greatest attention will be given to areas of most concern.

The committee sought clarity on how the monitoring processes worked for out of county placements. Officers responded that in these cases, the county council relies on assurances from the relevant local authority. It was emphasised that out of county placements are only used in exceptional circumstances.

12:20

The meeting closed at 12:05.