8.
MINUTES
The Minutes of
the meeting held on 17 June 2004
were confirmed.
9.
ADULT AUTISM
The Chairman
welcomed Mrs Chris Partridge to the meeting she had previously attended a
Select Committee on 5 February 2003 with regards to the provision of services
for adults with autism.
Mrs Partridge wanted
to thank Councillors, because of the work they had undertaken a new Adult
Autism Officer was now in post. He had
five years experience, was a qualified ASW, and would be tasked with setting up
self help groups within the community.
Mrs Partridge
asked if the Council were getting any input from SPECTRUM and was advised that
they had been involved in the training.
10.
FORWARD PLAN
The Draft
Cultural Strategy did not go the Executive on 14 July 2004. The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services
explained that it was due to be considered by the Executive on 28 July 2004.
The work
undertaken by Price Cooper Waterhouse on Organisational Reconfiguration was
almost completed, a report was to be written and presented to the Executive on
28 July 2004. The report would also be
presented to the Combined Trust and the PCT Board. It was anticipated that a consultation period of two months would
follow.
11.
INSPECTION OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES – REPORT BY THE
COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL CARE INSPECTION
The Chairman
reminded members that the report had been embargoed until 14 July 2004, when it
had been considered by the Executive.
Mr Frank Lowe the Lead Inspector had given the Executive a brief
presentation.
The Inspection
of Children’s Services was carried out in January 2004 by the Social Services
Inspectorate which had from April 2004 changed to the Commission for Social
Care Inspection. This was now the
single inspectorate for social care in England. The Commission combined the work formerly done by the Social
Services Inspectorate (SSI), the SSI/Audit Commission Joint Review Team and the
National Care Standards Commission.
The main
findings of the inspection were outlined.
The strengths were ;
·
Strong commitment to integrated services for children.
·
An innovative local prevention strategy.
·
Oak House, Family Resources Service, LACES, personal
advisers in the 16+ Team provided good quality services.
·
Support package for foster carers had increased local
placements.
·
Good performance on a number of PAF performance
indicators.
·
Practice handbook was helping to improve the standard
of practice.
·
Few staff vacancies, staff well supported by managers
and high morale.
Areas for
Development :
·
The Referral and Assessment Team was under immense
pressure; this was adversely affecting the team’s morale, responsiveness to
referrals and quality of practice.
·
Only one complaint from a child in the last 3 years.
·
Many children’s services buildings were inaccessible to
people with disabilities.
·
The ACPC’s budget was inadequate.
·
Services need to be timelier, not wait until families
reached crisis point.
·
Better co-ordination of services for children with
disability/challenging behaviours.
·
Improve communication with foster carers and ensure
they are consistently supported.
Key Messages :
·
The front door to the service was critical – get it
fixed, get it right.
·
More rigorous member scrutiny of children services was
needed – members should know whether council services were safer and effective.
·
Performance indicators were important but limited – use
other qualitative measures eg children’s views and complaints.
·
Promoting social inclusion was part of the core
business not an add on.
Overall
Assessment :
The Isle of
Wight was providing a good standard of service to children and families and in
some areas achieving a very good level of performance. However there were some areas of significant
concern, which was requiring some serious attention, namely the Referral and
Assessment Team, services to children with challenging behaviours and access to
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
The Council was starting from a relatively low base on a number of
areas, such as corporate parenting, valuing diversity and ensuring fair access
to services. But there was strong
commitment at all levels to deliver improvement in these and other areas, and
promising signs that these were underway.
The Acting
Head of Children’s Services outlined the Draft Action Plan and updated members on
the recommendations within the Inspection report. Members noted the change in role for the Referral and Assessment
Team. An independent audit had been
commissioned, an action plan was put in place and reviewed on a regular basis.
Members noted
that there was some dissatisfaction between looked after children and their
social workers. There appeared to be
inconsistency in child care practice.
Members also asked whose responsibility assessments were at the Women’s
Refuge.
With regard to
the satisfaction ratings care leavers had commented on services over time. There was a history of difficulty with the
Refuge but regular meetings were now held.
Responsibility for assessment was with Social Services.
The Adult and
Community Services Director indicated that a Children’s Rights and
Participation Officer had recently been appointed. Members did not believe there was anything seriously wrong, all
that was needed was better communications and tighter management.
The Portfolio
Holder for Children’s Services believed the report had been useful and reminded
members that it would fall within the remit of Children’s Services from
September 2004. The Draft Action Plan
would go back to the Executive in late September 2004.
The Select
Committee were advised that an OSCARS evening for looked after children was to
be held in Ryde on 25 September 2004.
ACTION TO
BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES AND THE DIRECTOR OF
CHILDREN’S SERVICES :
THAT the Adult
and Community Services Select Committee Support the Draft Action Plan and its
progress to be monitored through the Children’s Services Select Committee.
12.
BUDGET MONITORING AS AT END OF MAY 2004
In the absence
of the Portfolio Holder the Budget Accountant for Social Services presented the
report which set out the budget and spending position on revenue services
within the Committee’s remit as at the end of May 2004.
13.
NHS LIVE 2004-2005 FALLS PREVENTION AND HARM REDUCTION
PROJECT
The Chairman
welcomed Sylvia Giblin, Secretary of the Osteoporosis Society and Marj Ringer,
Falls Prevention and Rehabilitation Co-ordinator for the PCT.
The Emergency
Duty Services Manager advised members that this was a multi-agency preventative
programme between the NHS, Social Services and the Voluntary Sector.
Falls were the
leading cause of mortality due to injury in older people aged over 75 in the UK,
the cost in treatment to the Health Service was £1.8 billion per annum. 1 in 3 people over 65 suffered falls every
year, 5% resulted in fractures. 98% of
hip fractures were also due to falls.
It was anticipated that the incidents of fractures due to falls could be
reduced on the Isle of Wight by 2010.
The launch of the Falls Prevention and Harm Reduction Project was due in
October 2004.
Marj Ringer
was the facilitator of a falls core group who met every 2 – 3 months and were
producing an integrated framework for the Isle of Wight. There needed to be a single assessment
process for the older person with a register being set up in doctor’s
surgeries. Pilot schemes were currently
running in Freshwater, Carisbrooke and Cowes.
2 fall seminars and workshops had recently been held with staff from residential
nursing homes attending.
Sylvia Giblin
believed that information and education on osteoporosis should be promoted
across the Island. Information was already
circulated to all GPs on the Isle of Wight.
The Osteoporosis Society were endeavouring to set up a group that would
meet in the evening, although this was in the early stages, a day time group
already met every other month. 1 in 3
women and 1 in 12 men have/get osteoporosis which costs £5 million per day to
treat.
Members asked
what percentage of falls were due to uneven pavements. The ambulance service had recently
undertaken an audit on why, when and where people fall.
ACTION TO
BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER :
The Portfolio
Holder to explore creative ways of promoting the falls prevention programme and
raising awareness of the problems associated with osteoporosis for staff and
public within the authority.
14.
MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME
Mr R G Mazillius asked if it would be possible for members to
donate £5.00 from their August allowances to help with prizes for the OSCARS
evening for Looked After Children.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN BE THE HEAD OF SELECT COMMITTEE AND BEST VALUE
SUPPORT :
An e-mail be sent to all members asking for a contribution to the
OSCARS evening for Looked After Children.
CHAIRMAN
