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Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Bridges Room - Civic Centre

Contact: Helen Conway email  helenconway@gateshead.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

CHW114

Minutes of last meeting pdf icon PDF 100 KB

The Committee are asked to approve as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2018.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2018 were approved as a correct record subject to Minute CHW107 Declarations of Interest being amended to read as follows:-

 

Councillor Judith Gibson declared a personal interest in the next two agenda items as she works for North Tyneside CCG.

CHW115

Healthwatch Gateshead - Interim Report pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Report of Gateshead Healthwatch

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Steph Edeusi, Chief Executive, provided an update to the OSC on the progress achieved since last year and the priorities set for Healthwatch Gateshead in 2018/19.

 

The OSC was informed that the Joint Healthwatch Gateshead and Healthwatch Newcastle conference was repeated in April and went well. The focus of the event was the work of both Healthwatch as well as the creation of an engagement plan/resource for Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which would focus on engaging with service users with learning disabilities, their relatives and carers.

 

Healthwatch Gateshead also developed a short list of potential priorities for future engagement which was informed by comments, concerns and points of view gathered from residents during 2017-18 as well as input from local health and social care officers and organisations. The list was consulted on publicly and the Committee then established the key 2018-19 priorities as:-

·         Lack of funding for social care

·         Mental Health (joint with Healthwatch Newcastle)

 

Additional priorities for engagement for 2018-19 were also identified as:-

·         Young People

·         The West of Gateshead borough

 

In progressing work around the lack of funding for social care, Healthwatch Gateshead developed a survey for Gateshead residents to support them to participate in the consultation on the LGA Green paper on social care. This was submitted to Gateshead Council so elements could be incorporated into their response to the consultation and the full Healthwatch Gateshead report was also attached as an appendix to the response to the LGA.

The OSC noted that the final design of the project was still to be agreed but was likely to include a survey with service users to establish what, if any changes, they had seen since the last round of changes under the Council’s budget. Healthwatch Gateshead also plan to hold a consultation event on this year’s budget proposals to mirror work they did a few years ago.

The project will be complete by the end of the financial year and a report would be submitted to the OSC.

In relation to engagement work around mental health, Healthwatch Gateshead will focus on people who were not fully involved in the Deciding Together and Expanding Minds, Improving Lives engagement process and the following groups have therefore been prioritised for engagement work:-

·         Lesbian and transgender communities

·         Black African and Afro-Caribbean communities

·         Veterans

·         Homeless people

·         Students (particularly overseas students)

·         People on Universal Credit

 

Forward Assist, a veterans’ organisation, Gateshead Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Fulfilling Lives have subsequently been commissioned by Healthwatch Gateshead to undertake engagement with male and female veterans, people on Universal Credit and people who are homeless respectively.

A survey of the lesbian and transgender communities is also being undertaken and a Northumbria University student is working with Healthwatch Gateshead on placement to supervise the work focussing on students.

This project will also share its work with the OSC following publication of its report in March 2019.

The OSC was informed that Victoria Clarke, Volunteer and Outreach Co-ordinator was leading the programme of engagement, supported by  ...  view the full minutes text for item CHW115

CHW116

OSC Review - Helping People to Stay at Home Safely - Evidence Session pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Report of Strategic Director, Care, Wellbeing and Learning.

Minutes:

The Committee had agreed that the focus for its review in 2018-19 would be “Helping People to Stay at Home Safely” and would consider how health, social care and voluntary services support people’s confidence and independence to live safely in their own homes. The review would centre on the following six core themes:-

 

·         Assistive technology and digital information

·         Enablement services

·         Housing options to support independent living

·         Commissioning for enablement outcomes

·         Emergency and community services

·         Personalisation and choice

 

This evidence session examined the housing options to support independent living and focused on the following two areas:-

 

Sheltered Housing

The Committee was informed that the Strategic Housing Market Assessment for Newcastle Gateshead (SHMA) identifies 2,619 specialist older person housing units and the Gateshead Housing Company total owned older persons housing stock is 3,623.

 

It was noted that in terms of sheltered housing there are 2,050 bungalows appointed for older persons in Gateshead distributed amongst the general housing stock and managed by the local housing office teams. Additionally, 1,573 properties are managed by The Gateshead Housing Company Older Persons Team. These include 315 flats, 219 sheltered flats and 1,039 bungalows that are grouped in recognised sheltered schemes. These schemes offer customers an independent living environment with small, easy managed self-contained services. Access to support and advice with health and housing care needs is available on site.

 

The Committee received evidence that work is ongoing to protect this offer of choice and independence for older people. This has been achieved by refocusing the Neighbourhood Services Team in 2017 into four neighbourhood housing teams but retaining a specialist Older Persons Housing Team  to deliver a boroughwide tenancy and estate management service. In addition, following the transfer of the Sheltered Scheme Officer Service to The Gateshead Housing Company in April 2016 there has been a restructure of the service to deliver more efficient ways of working and a more customer focused service. As a result, four Older Persons Housing Officers have been introduced who deal with estate management issues and cover a patch of approximately 400 properties respectively which means they can offer more intensive to customers who have higher support needs. These officers directly manage onsite Sheltered Scheme Officers and Mobile Scheme Officers.

 

As more people in Gateshead aged over 65 are living with selected conditions and or care and support needs the Sheltered Scheme officers are able to ensure that customers living in sheltered housing feel safe and secure in their homes and they manage a support planning process for these customers.

 

A support plan is agreed for each customer within a week of moving into the scheme which sets out how their care and support needs will be met and determines if they are eligible for a care package of extra support and their eligibility for any benefits. The plans aim to maximise individuals’ independence and consider social activities each customer might participate in. The plans are monitored closely and reviewed every year and take account of changes in circumstance, such as a  ...  view the full minutes text for item CHW116

CHW117

Annual Report on Services Complaints, Compliments and Representations - 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 pdf icon PDF 110 KB

Report of the Strategic Director, Care, Wellbeing and Learning

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the annual report on Social Services Complaints, compliments and representations for the period April 2017 to March 2018, which included a summary of all representations received, together with a review of the effectiveness of the procedures and examples of service improvements.

 

The Committee had regard to the following statistical analysis:-

·         Sixty-five statutory complaints were received during 2017/18. This is a 23%

increase on the number of complaints received during 2016/17, (53);

·         Ten of the complaints received were graded as green complaints, which are low level issues that carry a small risk either to the service user or the Council;

·          Fifty-five complaints were graded as amber complaints - moderate issues with medium risk to the service user or the Council;

·         There were no Red complaints received during 2017/18. Red complaints are

regarding serious issues which are high risk for either the service user or the

Council;

·         The number of low level informal issues received decreased by 26%, (17 from

23).

·         As most complainants now wish for a written response to their concerns, this

would account for the decrease in low level issues not requiring an outcome letter and the increase in formal complaints where a written response is a statutory requirement.

 

 

The Committee also had regard to the following points of interest highlighted:-

·         42%, (27) of complaints were around the quality of services received and remains the greatest cause for complaint;

·         Quality of service involves alleged failure of service delivery, for example;

o   Non- return of telephone calls;

o   Lack of or poor communication from services or individual workers;

o   Late or missed social work visits;

o   Lack of timely response after a request for service.

·         44% (27) of complaints were not upheld after investigation.

·         15% (9) of complaints were partially upheld.

·         29% (18) were fully upheld after investigation.

·         77% of representations made during 2017/18 were compliments and only 23% were concerns or formal complaints.

 

The Committee also had regard to the service improvements identified as a result of the complaints process during 2017-18.

 

The Committee asked for clarification on the complaints submitted to the Council in relation to Public Health Services.

 

The Committee was advised that both complaints related to the school measuring programme and disagreement with the assessment outcome. Both complaints had been investigated and found to be unjustified as in both cases the assessment had been found to have been carried out in line with national guidance.

 

RESOLVED -              That the Committee is satisfied with the performance of Care,

Wellbeing and Learning in responding to complaints and ensuring that this results in continuous service improvement.

CHW118

Annual Work Programme pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Joint Report of the Chief Executive and the Strategic Director, Corporate Services and Governance

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report setting out the provisional work programme for the Care, health and Wellbeing OSC for the municipal year 2018-19.

 

The appendix attached to the report set out the current position in relation to the work programme and highlighted proposed changes.

 

 

RESOLVED -            i)          That the provisional work programme be noted.

                                    ii)         That further reports on the work programme will be

                                                brought to the Committee to identify any additional

                                                policy issues which the Committee may be asked

                                                to consider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                           Chair………………………………

 

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