Agenda item

(To receive a report by Alex Craig (Commercial and Procurement Manager – People Services) and Reena Fehnert (Commercial and Procurement Officer – People Services), which invites the Committee to consider a report due for decision by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services which seeks approval for a change in commissioning arrangements)

Consideration was given to a report by the Executive Director of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing which invited the Committee to consider a report due for decision by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services which sought approval for a change in commissioning arrangements.

At 11.34am, Councillor P M Key re-entered the meeting.

Alex Craig (Commercial and Procurement Manager – People Services) and Michelle Colbourne (Area Manager – Hospital Teams and Customer Service Centre) introduced the report and gave a presentation to the Committee which covered the following points:-

·       Summary – the Council had in place a number of grant agreements directly supporting the care market; the agreements had been in place for over two years and had shown excellent results overall; and the recommendation was to establish a formal contract for these services and to broaden the scope of the work;

·       Context – a contract would be established to deliver vital market functions for Adults Social Care services; offer workforce and skills support; supports the Council to meet its obligations under the Care Act 2014; and continue the Care Home Trusted Assessors (CHTA) service;

·       Background –existing Workforce Development grant success; success in securing additional funding; and over 1000 bed days saved relating to the Care Home Trusted Assessor programme;

·       Challenges – continuing pressures across Health and Social care; improving the profile of care work as a career; and strengthening links with  health workforce for better career pathways;

·       What outcomes we are trying to achieve – greater support and resource provision; improved recruitment and retention; and a service more capable of meeting changing and increasing need;

·       What we are looking for from the provider – countywide provision; comprehensive and high quality training solution; strategic coordination with key bodies; promotion of Social Care as a career; enhanced support to the Health and Care system; and strategic partnership working with the Council;

·       Proposed model;

·       Tender process and contracting – regulation details; Article 77; and a PIN which was published on 25^th July 2017;

·       Timeline;

·       Other aspects – contract length; transition and mobilisation; and contract go live date of 1^st April 2018; and

·       Conclusion – through a procurement exercise, the Council would establish a formal, sustainable, service which would build on the success of the prior grant agreement and provide vital support to the local market for Adult Social services.

It was explained to the Committee that care home assessments in hospitals were undertaken to ensure that a particular care home continued to meet the patient's needs.  The Care Home Trusted Assessor would undertake that assessment on behalf of the care home, if they agreed.  This had sped up the process and, as a result, had saved in excess of 1000 bed days in 2016/17.

During discussion, the following points were noted:-

·       The Department of Health had published a report in August 2017 which included a number of good practice sites.  The Committee was pleased to note that Lincolnshire appeared in the top three of 400 sites which were assessed;

·       Grant funding was used to develop a number of other activities but once these services had shown some viability, it would be appropriate for Adult Care and Community Wellbeing to convert them into a contract state.  The Committee agreed that it was beneficial to have a legally binding contract in place for services wherever possible;

·       It would be possible for a care provider out-of-county to challenge a decision of the Trusted Assessor as they would not be part of LINCA and therefore would not have built a relationship with the assessor.  It was costly to do this independently but the Committee noted that some providers do prefer to do this themselves;

·       The NHS also insisted upon three quotes for this type of care which resulted in a 3-5 day delay.  The Trusted Assessor model was therefore being promoted to the NHS to persuade them to also use this model;

·       Provisions within the regulations stated that providers must have certain structures in place to be considered for the contract.  These structures could be quite prescriptive to ensure the best provision was sought;

·       The importance of the preferred provider having knowledge of the local community and organisations was also thought to be essential.

Councillor S R Dodds left the meeting at 11.56am.

The Committee asked that an update be provided on the procurement process at an appropriate time.

RESOLVED

1.    That the recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services, within Appendix 1 to the Strategic Market Support Partner Procurement report, be supported; and

2.    That the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services be advised that the Committee explored the differences between a grant and a contractual arrangement; the trusted assessor role; and the importance of the provider having knowledge of the local community and organisations.

At 12.00pm, Councillor S R Dodds re-entered the meeting.