Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 7 February 2012 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting of the Individuals Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7 February 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Following the recent Ageing Well event considering priorities for older people in the borough, the attached report details some themes arising from the event that could be used as components of the overview and scrutiny committee’s work programme.

The Committee received a report detailing some themes arising from the Ageing Well Event which considered the priorities for older people in the borough.  The Committee were informed that the appendix to the report showed the areas where things were going well, and those areas where things were not going well. The latter areas were potentially what the Committee needed to concentrate on. The strands of themes were discussed by members, and they agreed that there were areas which could be incorporated into their work programme for the next municipal year.

The areas that the Committee agreed would be good to scrutinise were:

• Impact on housing for the Elderly
• Dial a Ride
• Transportation
• Rogue Traders and the Safety of Individuals
• Banking Protocol
• IT for the Elderly

The Committee discussed the different areas, and where they felt information could be sought in relation to each. It was agreed to include these within the next work programme.

Officers stated that there would be opportunities for joint working with other Committees in some of the area discussed

The Committee will receive an update on the progress of the recommendations as set out in the attached report which was agreed by this Committee on 2 March 2011.

The Committee received a report outlining the developments in Havering following the Dementia Strategy Topic Group report which was presented to the Committee on 12 April 2011.

The Committee were informed that the Lead Member for Individuals was taking the lead role in regard to people with dementia. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment was being reviewed and was out for consultation. This would feed into the Health and Wellbeing Strategy which would form the work of the Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board.

A Dementia Implementation Group had been established which would look at the National Strategy in much the same way the topic group had.  This included partner organisations including Health and the Voluntary Sector. The Committee raised concerns that there was no Member involvement on the group. Officers informed the Committee however that the Lead Member had commissioned the work and chaired the Health and Wellbeing Board which also comprised other Members. 

The Committee had received a report of the audit of staff in care homes, at its meeting in November 2011.

The Committee were informed that the Health and Wellbeing Board had commissioned a range of activities for carers.  These included:

Peer Support – This service would provide support for people with dementia and their carers by matching volunteers and others with dementia and their carers to others on the basis of shared need and preference. This service was being delivered by the Alzheimer’s Society. 

Information and Advice Outreach Service – This service was also delivered by the Alzheimer’s Society and would improve the knowledge and awareness of dementia.  It would refer increased numbers of patients to the available dementia services and provide support by giving people early access to relevant information via a preventative approach. The outreach service would be targeted and flexible to local needs and would average up to four hours of direct community information provision per week. This also tied in with the Care Point resource which had recently launched.

Additional Support for Carers – This service would be provided by Crossroads Care which offered a specialist, carer needs-led and client-centred service. This service, in the main, was for people who had moderate to advanced stage dementia and provided a home-based respite support.  The service aimed to reduce residential care admissions and to improve health and wellbeing of the carer.

The original topic group report requested that the NELFT Borough Director developed an action plan from the recommendations made.  This was viewed by the Committee and the actions were explained.  Members asked about the number of vacant posts that there were and how many were being recruited. Officers agreed to clarify this with NELFT and to circulate this information to Committee Members.

Members also queried the ethnic profile of paid care staff. Officers confirmed that staff within Adult Social Care and NELFT reflected the ethnic profile of the local population.

The Committee discussed issues around the standard of English, both written and spoken, and highlighted potential difficulties in communication with clients.  A member outlined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Committee will receive a presentation from the Head of Adult Social Care.

The Committee received a presentation on Dignity in Care from the Quality and Safeguarding Service Manager. The Committee were reminded that dignity was not a new word or concept in care and health services and that the principle of dignity was how individuals in care are respected.

The Committee was informed of the eight main factors which promoted dignity in care.  These were:

• Choice and Control
• Communication
• Eating and Nutritional Care
• Pain Management
• Personal Hygiene
• Practical Assistance
• Privacy
• Social Inclusion

The Committee were advised of how dignity was delivered and the challenges that can be faced in achieving this. Some of the factors that impacted on this were cross cultural, interpersonal and communication issues. Recruitment was also a problem and Job Centre data indicated that the largest numbers of vacancies were in the care sector. Nationally it was difficult to recruit care staff. Given the low status and pay of such work the consequence was that there was often reliance within the care sector on recruiting overseas.   This could, on occasions, contribute to communication difficulties between service users and workers.

The manager for the Havering Reablement Service, gave an example of the application of principles of dignity in relation to a service user of the Reablement Service. A 68 year old retired health care professional, who had broken her wrist and then as a result of a fall had then broken her arm and dislocated her other shoulder. She had discharged herself from the hospital and had the support of a friend, but needed assistance in dressing and doing everyday tasks. The comments she fed back after the reablement at home service included the staff being very friendly, that they had introduced themselves, they explained what they were doing, and ensured that she retained her privacy/dignity when using the bathroom. They also assisted in pain management effectively. After a period of reablement the service user recovered enough to be able to use one arm and regained her independence.

The Committee asked if there were any staffing issues in relation to training or qualifications of paid carers. Officers explained that trained and qualified staff could be recruited.  As there was however no specific reablement qualification much of the training was carried out in-house. 

A member asked what happened if things went wrong, and if there was a “Whistle Blowing” policy. The officer explained that that all service providers were required to ensure that there were policies in place and that they were expected to support staff to feel able to speak out. If concerns were raised with the Council they were always taken seriously. The Adults Safeguarding Team screened all safeguarding concerns that were raised.  Where appropriate full investigations were carried out to ascertain if there was a safeguarding issue. If it was not a safeguarding issue the query was passed (if appropriate) to another team for the matter to be looked into. If the concerns were about care quality and other issues to do with operation of care services, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Committee will receive a report on work carried out in the last municipal year.

The Committee are asked to agree the content and authorise the Chairman to sign off.

The Committee received a report on the work that had been carried out over the last municipal year. The Committee was informed that the items discussed at this meeting would be included before it was signed off by the Chairman.

The Committee agreed the contents and authorised the Chairman to sign off the final version.

Committee Members are invited to indicate to the Chairman, items within this Committee’s terms of reference they would like to see discussed at a future meeting.  Note: it is not considered appropriate for issues relating to individuals to be discussed under this provision.

A member requested that an item on Dial-a-Ride be included on a future agenda.