Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

Cllr John Rowley

Cllr Simon Bennett

Cllr Rupinderjit Kaur

Cllr Lynne Moran

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2019, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

[Lousie Haughton,Principal Social Worker, to present report]

David Watts, Director of Adult Services, introduced the report and outlined the background and the reasons for submitting it to the panel for comment. The Director of Adult Services advised the panel that it is not a statutory requirement, but it is accepted as being good practice to do so. The final draft will be published in November 2019.

Louise Haughton, Principal Social Worker, and Jenny Rogers, Advanced Practioner for Quality and Improvement, jointly presented the main findings of the report to the panel. The Advanced Practioner explained that the annual report gives an overview of the performance, progress towards targets and highlighted examples of specific work.

The report highlights challenges facing the service in supporting people. The Advanced Practioner commented on work done with University of Wolverhampton to make the findings more visual and capture a range of different user experiences. At present waiting for national data to be added to the report that will be used to help develop priorities for the service.

The panel queried the process for publishing the annual report and who it would be shared with. The Advanced Practioner advised the panel that the final report will be published on the Council website when the missing national data is received.  The panel queried if the number of carers who had received support from adult social care had reduced from previous year and asked for figures for 2017-18 to compare. The Director of Adult Services explained that people may have had an assessment as a carer but received support which complicates the figure. The Director of Adult Service agreed to provide the panel with details.

The panel discussed work done to promote the use of the carer’s emergency card. The panel were advised that a campaign is planned to promote them and also to give carers the opportunity to meet, while recognising they have different needs and interests. The panel discussed the number and support available to child carers.  The Principal Social Worker agreed to provide the information requested. The Principal Social Worker added that the Council does not know all the carers in Wolverhampton, but work is being done to close the gap. There is work being done to find out from carers about their needs and the support that would be helpful. The Principal Social Worker advised that the service is working with colleagues in school to identify children who are carers, but it is a challenge. Any child who is found will be referred to the MASH to be assessed and provide support. The majority of referrals to the MASH are from schools.

The panel queried the absence in the document to people with protected characteristics and expressed concern that this would have on the willingness to seek help and advice, if there is no recognition in an official document.  The Director of Adult Services responded that employees are not required by national guidance to include information, to declare their sexuality. As the information is not considered to be reliable enough due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[Sue Eagle, Commissioning Officer, to present report]

David Watts, Director of Adult Services, introduced the report. The panel were advised that in response to a request for further information Susan Eagle,

Commissioning Officer had been invited to attend to give a more detailed information about progress of work being done to identify and support people with a diagnosis of dementia. The Commissioning Officer introduced Tom Denham, Head of Provider Services, to the panel.

The Commissioning Officer advised that there are number of known types of dementia which can affect a person’s behaviour very differently. The Commissioning Officer explained the challenges to detecting early signs of the condition and the range of support available. The Commissioning Officer briefed the panel on the headline data and the estimates of the numbers of people affected was expected to increase by over 50 percent by 2035.  At present 3000 people in Wolverhampton are affected by dementia.

Wolverhampton is performing well against national and local comparators.

The Commissioning Officer gave details of the work done by members of Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance and the development of the strategy. The examples ranged from Wolverhampton Grand Theatre holding a dementia friendly café which has been very people with a 100 people attending, Radio WM doing live broadcast to promote awareness, West Park provide dementia café events which have been very popular and there is a waiting list of people wanting to get involved. The Commissioning Officer commented on the intergenerational work done with schools to engage local children in raising awareness of the illness and improve understanding.

A promotional video of the work done by Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance was shown to the panel.

The strategy is underpinned by the JSNA which can provide a wealth of data and support the multi-agency approach that has been updated.  The work has good representation from members of the third sector and there are plans to look at risk factors of developing dementia and include them in future health checks. The Commissioning Officer commented on the work done to support black and minority groups and gave examples of the challenges in responding the needs of this group, with a focus on making small changes that can help improve the quality of care given.

The Commissioning Officer commented on the main challenges to moving the strategy forward, such as people living longer with more complex health issues and working with partners to get the right services. The situation is complicated by the different eligibility rules and situations where the person affected lacks capacity to make informed decisions about their care arrangements.

Tom Denham, Head of Provider Services, advised the panel that Blakenhall Day Services supports about 35 people with a diagnosis of dementia. Carers are supported by Blakenhall in that they experience a period of respite while the person they care for attends the service.

The Head of Provider Services added that fortnightly meetings are held with colleagues in partner organisations to look at services offered to people with a dementia diagnosis and their families. The current public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, to present report]

Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, presented the draft work programme for information and comment.

Resolved:

            The panel agreed to note the report.