Agenda item

(To receive a report by Caroline Jackson, Head of Corporate Performance, which summarises the Adult Care and Community Wellbeing Service Level Performance for Quarter 3)

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Corporate Performance, which invited the Committee to consider the Service Level Performance against the Corporate Performance Framework – Quarter 3, in relation to the  Adult Care and Community Wellbeing Service.

The Committee was advised that out of 18 measures which could be reported in quarter 3, 12 either achieved or exceeded their target and 6 measures had not achieved the targets set.

The measures which had met or exceeded their target were highlighted. 

Further detail was also provided for the reasons that 6 measures had not achieved their target:

·       People in receipt of long term support: Teams which undertook reviews had seen significant pressure due to Covid and therefore prioritisation of work had seen unplanned review and reviews of new packages of care a priority over stable packages of care.

·       Carers being supported: There was an upward trend in carers being supported since quarter 2 but the target had not been met

·       Carers who have received a review of their needs

·       Adult Safeguarding concerns that led to a safeguarding enquiry: The Council continued to work with partners to improve the adult safeguarding concerns that led to a safeguarding enquiry. Outcomes of a recent audit confirmed decision making was sound in relation to whether to progress to an enquiry.

·       The percentage of alcohol users that left specialist treatment successfully: There was a move within the service to fully open and to increase face to face appointments. The presentations to the service continued to be more complex with clients having multiple issues which required more intense residential services and was impacting on discharge rates as treatment were taking longer and were less likely to be successful straight away. The service had seen a 10% increase in successful discharges this reporting year against a 34% increase in new clients.

·       People supported to successfully quit smoking: this target had been impacted by Covid with no GP subcontractors delivering smoking cessation in this quarter. One You Lincolnshire continued to support this shortfall with good quality service provision which was having an impact.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

Adult Safeguarding concerns that lead to a Safeguarding enquiry

• Members questioned why audits had concluded that the progress to enquiries were adequate but the measure continued to not reach the target.
• Officers confirmed that they were working with partners to ensure that safeguarding concerns were reported appropriately.
• There was a significant variance between benchmarking data for other Local Authorities and as a result Officers would review the target.
• Pressures felt by Covid-19 had generated a higher levels of referrals, many of which had been inappropriately reported. 
• The Committee emphasised the importance of ensuring that changes to the reporting of concerns did not result in legitimate concerns being missed.
• Reassurance was provided that the Council’s safeguarding team undertook regular audits to ensure that the triage had made the correct decision on whether to refer safeguarding matters.
• Preventative safeguarding work was a wider partnership responsibility.
• It was suggested that the Performance Measure should be reviewed, and a report should be shared with the Committee to consider the findings of the review as well as to provide more information on relevant statutory safeguarding duties

Percentage of alcohol users that left specialist treatment successfully

• Members were supportive of the target to improve the number of alcohol users that had left specialist treatment successfully, but also recognised that many of the individuals requiring support had complex needs and may require additional support.
• The positive impact on people’s lives for those who receive support with alcohol and substance abuse was emphasised. However, it was acknowledged that there would be always be some people who did not wish to receive support for substance abuse or smoking.  In supporting people to stop using substances it also improved the lives of the individuals and their families.
• Covid-19 had led to an increase in alcohol use but it was not yet clear whether this would be a long term impact.

Requests for support for new clients, where the outcome was no support or support of a lower level

• The change in how referrals were made into adult social care meant that re-referrals occurred until the service had capacity. It was clarified that when a service became available, a re-referral would need to be made.
• This indicator related to clients aged 65 or over as referrals for those people aged 18-64 as referrals were processed in a different way and referrals were made directly to services. Data was still collected in relation to this age group.

Carers who have received a review of their needs

• Changes to the Adult Care Review forms would provide assurance that carers’ needs were being addressed and that forms were recorded effectively.

Permanent admissions to residential and nursing care homes aged 65+

• It was acknowledged that in some cases there was a need for people to be placed into residential care and it could be a positive choice for the individual.
• Some of the decrease in admissions was thought to be due to people avoiding residential and nursing care homes due to worries of outbreaks of Covid-19.
• It was confirmed that the Council operated framework contracts in which they were charged for each individual admission.

Percentage of people aged 40 to 74 offered and received an NHS health check (PI33)

• It was confirmed that NHS Health checks were delivered through NHS GP Practices.
• An explanation as to why people were not receiving health checks was agreed to be circulated to the Committee.

Carers supported in the last 12 months (PI59)

• National research suggested that carers had been significantly impacted by the pandemic and the Committee acknowledged the significant pressure that had been placed on carers.

• Assurance was provided that the Council were proactive in communicating the support available to carers. Demand for services had increased significantly and the Council would seek to support carers through the framework provided in the Carers Trust report.
• The Committee requested further detail of the level of vacancies within the care sector.

It was also suggested that the Council’s providers of support service for both substance abuse and smoking be invited to a future meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

              That the report be noted.