Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities which provided a detailed update on progress made within the Adults and Communities Department in implementing its interim recovery plans following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and set out initial proposals for longer term recovery planning and strategic change in accordance with the Council’s Recovery Strategy. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

In introducing the report, the Director advised the Committee of recent revisions made to national guidance in respect of hospital discharge pathways. Members noted that since the beginning of the pandemic the NHS had been required to provide for all new or additional packages of care. However, from 1 September 2020 the funding arrangements had changed and would now only cover the costs of the first six weeks of care. As a result, financial assessments would be required for any packages of care needed beyond this point to determine if these costs would be met by the NHS, the County Council or the patient. The Director also reported of a change made to the assessment process for determining continued healthcare needs which now meant that assessments previously carried out on hospital wards or, most recently by virtual means, were now able to be carried out in a patient’s home.

Arising from discussion and questions the following points arose:

(i)    Regarding the new process of assessing hospital discharge packages for patients with continuing healthcare needs at home, it was confirmed that determining the level of need and the most suitable care package remained the highest priority. In terms of assessment waiting times assurance was provided that Home First services continued to be immediately available upon discharge and would be for as long as necessary until the appropriate care package had been put in place. 

(ii)    In terms of ensuring sufficient supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) over the winter period, a number of controls had been put in place. For example, a central procurement hub had been established internally to better understand the stock levels required and to strategically manage orders to maintain supplies across all service areas. Processes had also been implemented to regularly monitor the external provider position so that any sourcing issues could be quickly identified and resolved.

(iii)   The Lightbulb Service continued to be operational but in a limited way. Assessments that would ordinarily be carried out in a person’s home were currently being carried out online to identify and prioritise those service users with an urgent need. It was noted that future consideration would be given in due course to the restart of any preventative services associated with the Lightbulb Service that were currently paused due to the national restrictions.

(iv)   Members noted that the impact of the pandemic on residential care homes had been severe and requested that a report specifically focussed on this sector be provided at the next meeting of the Committee.

In concluding the item, the Director stated that the Department’s ability to manage the impact of the pandemic could only be credited to the hard work and dedication of its staff, who, over the past few months, had been working tirelessly to keep services running despite the significant challenges they had faced and would continue to face over the coming months. Due to the national restrictions staff had experienced a whole series of changes to their workplace arrangements and practices. One of the key challenges for the majority of the workforce had been the switch to remote working, where much of the usual face to face communication had been limited and required to be carried out digitally. A number of staff had also been re-deployed to other service areas.  However, some were now beginning to return to their substantive posts. With regard to health and wellbeing, staff were being encouraged to take annual leave wherever possible to rest and re-energise.

The Committee also expressed its thanks to all staff in the Adults and Communities Department for all of their efforts made over recent months to respond to and manage the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis and commended the professional approach that had been undertaken to enable services to continue.

RESOLVED:

(a)    That the update on progress made within the Adults and Communities Department in implementing its interim recovery plans following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the initial proposals for longer term recovery planning and strategic change in accordance with the Council’s Recovery Strategy, be noted;

(b)    That at the next meeting of the Committee a report be provided regarding the Care Home Sector.