Agenda item

[Becky Wilkinson, Director of Adult Services, to present report]

The Chair invited Becky Wilkinson, Director of Adult Services, to present the report on the adult service transformation programme and the services being delivered to the residents of Wolverhampton. The Director of Adult Services outlined the vision for adult services and the key elements of the strategy for achieving it.

The Director of Adult Services commented on the impact of Covid 19 pandemic, and the changes made to the service model over the last few years, for example, embedding the ‘three conversations model’ into social work practice, taking a more local approach to delivering social care and understanding the needs of different parts of the community, and not simply telling people what they need.

The Director of Adult Services commented on the progress made since the Transforming Adult Services Programme Refresh was launched in January 2021.

The Director of Adult Services outlined the details of the previous transformation programme and the new transformation projects that have been introduced since June 2022. The Director of Adult Services commented on the importance of early help and prevention and supporting communities to provide for themselves. There will be a focus on adopting a more local approach to providing social care and understanding better what different parts of the community want and how to deliver it.

The Director of Adult Services commented that the level of demand for services is heavy on long term support and the probability is that once someone starts getting this level of care it will continue at this level into the future. The panel were reassured that the service is looking at what can be done earlier to prevent people from needing this level of long-term support in the future.

The Director of Adult Services gave further details of the new transformation projects in terms of their aims, expected outcomes, objectives, and progress to date.  The work on existing transformation programme will continue as it complements the work being done on the service redesign.

The Director of Adult Services highlighted the challenges of implementing a co-production in the development of a new approach to service redesign, which will involve having conversations with people rather than deciding for them what it is they need. The work on adult co-production approach is still to be scoped.

The Director of Adult Services invited panel members to share their ideas about how to engage with local people. Based on previous experience, the transformation is expected to take up to five years before the full impact will be seen, but there is hope that people will start to see a difference in the service by the end of this year.

The panel thanked the presenter for the report and extended their thanks and congratulations on the progress of the service redesign work.

The panel commented on the overall good progress made to implement projects aimed at delivering the aims of the transformation programme. The panel queried if the Early Help and Prevention project was on track to deliver support to families from October 2022.

The Director of Adult Services confirmed that the project is on track to start in October and progress is being regularly monitored and if there are any expected slippages this will be reported. The Director of Adult Services assured the panel that the service will be open and transparent when there are issues that may affect the delivery of the project.

The panel commented on the scale and complexity of the different transformation projects and highlighted the challenges in engaging with as many stakeholders and in particular families when the work on Adult Co-Production Approach is still to be scoped. The panel commented on the importance of this project in the delivery of the other projects and asked for more details. The panel commented on added challenges faced by people wanting to access their local GP which is the main route to accessing care and support services.

The Director of Adult Services commented that the project Families Front Door is aimed at addressing the issue highlighted and there was an acceptance that people do find it difficult to contact the service due to different options available or knowledge of best number or email to use. The Director of Adult Services added that there is work being done to make the first point of contact much easier and avoid the public having to give the same information several times. The project will help the service to resolve issues much earlier. The Director of Adult Services gave details of the changes to procedures and team structures to support the desired change and to address the concerns highlighted by the panel.

The Director of Adult Services commented on the challenges in how best to engage with different local communities about redesigning services and welcomed ideas from the panel. The plans for public engagement will also include talking to members of the workforce about their experiences and those of their family members about the services, both good and bad. The Director of Adult Services highlighted the importance of involving the public in the design of services and listening to what they think about the current services being offered.

The Director of Adult Services commented that the service is looking at implementing the changes by the end of 2023. Based on the learning from the children’s transformation programme it is expected that the full impact of the changes could take up to five years to be seen.

The panel welcomed the comments on the plans for developing the co-production approach but were concerned about the timetable and asked for details.

Meena Dulai, Head of Service Adult Improvement, commented that previous approaches have involved the public at a stage of the process when it had already been scoped, which is not considered to be co-production. 

The Head of Service outlined the approach that will be followed and reassured the panel that discussions have started with various organisations about how this can be done in an open and transparent way to ensure the service is properly engaging with people. The Head of Service added that this approach will mean more time is needed when working to develop ideas with local communities as equal partners and to engage with them more effectively.

The panel highlighted the difficulties faced by a resident who is supporting a relative with mental disability or illness in getting access to a GP which is the necessary to getting a proper assessment of their situation by health professionals. 

The panel queried the work being done to involve colleagues in NHS in discussions about supporting and implementing the planned service changes.

The Director of Adult Services acknowledged the importance of the contribution of the NHS and the challenges in working with health colleagues because of the impact that delays for people needing medical interventions have on the adult care sector. The Director of Adult Services commented that the issues highlighted are being raised in discussions with health colleagues.

The Head of Service advised the panel that was a meeting earlier with health colleagues to discuss the issue of urgent care. 

The Head of Service commented on the challenges in providing 24-hour access to mental health support services under the current arrangements and there are discussions ongoing with health colleagues about how to provide a more seamless service that maximises people’s independence.

The panel commented on the previous discussion about the difficulties experienced by residents when trying to access their GP and that the underlying problem was the general lack of GPs and the increasing numbers choosing to either reduce their working hours or to retire from the profession. 

The panel commented on the important contribution that the voluntary sector can make in supporting the changes and that partnership working should be encouraged.

The Director of Adult Services acknowledged the important role of the third sector and advised the panel that a community engagement event is planned for next week to talk to representatives about the plans for future service redesign. 

The Director of Adult Services commented on the benefits and the value of engaging with the third sector in the redesign of care services.

The panel commented on the key shortage care workers and their role in delivering the aims of the programme. 

The Director of Adult Services acknowledged the challenges created by the shortage of care workers. The issue was set out in a report to SEB which commented on the impact of changes to Covid financial support rules. The Director of Adult Services commented on the impact of the challenges facing the sector which is encouraging some care workers to look elsewhere for work which is less stressful. 

The Director of Adult Services commented on the importance of recognising and valuing the role of social care workers and looking at improving their working terms and conditions to reduce the risk of them leaving.

The panel asked for feedback on the community event to be shared with panel and that an invitation to attend could be shared with members.

The panel asked to be updated on progress of the implementation of the transformation programme.

The panel thanked the presenter for the report.

Resolved:

1.    The panel comments on the Adult Service Transformation Programme to be noted.

2.    The Director of Adult Services to update the panel on progress of implementing the programme and a further report to be presented to a future meeting.