Agenda and draft minutes

Promoting Independence- Disabilities (Residential / Nursing Placements)

Community

Viv Griffin outlined the aim of the saving proposal and the intention of bringing the level of spending to the national average for residential care.

The panel queried the reasons for the change. Viv Griffin commented that Wolverhampton has traditionally spent more on residential care. Viv explained that there was due to the historical legacy from the closure of old care buildings. The panel expressed concern about the impact of the change when numbers of people needing care is increasing. Val commented on the work being done to reduce prices and also the numbers of people going into residential care. The Council is looking for alternative accommodation and the right level of care to respond to the issue.

The panel welcomed the amount spent on older people in Wolverhampton and the fact that people are living longer.

The panel commented on the need to find out what other service providers are doing to make adaptions to the homes of older people across the city. It is important that this work is properly co-ordinated. Cllr Evans and Viv Griffin commented on the changes in the expectations of people and wanting different options for care arrangements. Viv explained that there will always be people who want residential care. The panel commented that they supported the idea of independent living. The panel queried the process that will be used to assess that people are ready for independent living.  

Viv explained that each person would have a detailed review done by professionals as part of the assessment process.

The panel commented on the financial challenges and queried if there was sufficient staff resources that can cope with the increased demand on the service. Cllr Evans commented on the changes already made to contracts which have delivered savings and not led to a reduction in the quality of care provided.

The panel commented on the outsourcing of services and the arrangements in place to make sure that the service delivered to users is not compromised. Cllr Evans responded that the Council does not do a good job of explaining the amount of money it spends on adult social care. Cllr Evans responded that the Council has a quality action team to check and monitor services.

The panel queried the governance arrangements to check that the Council is meeting its safeguarding responsibilities. Viv gave examples of the range of systems such as annual review of the client, and Care Quality Commission to check the quality of services.

The panel commented on the need to take account of the diverse population of Wolverhampton. Viv  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.