Agenda item

[Meena Dulai,Head of Service Adult Improvement, to present report]

The Chair invited Meena Dulai, Head of Adult Improvement, to present the report.

The Head of Adult Improvement outlined the background to the development of the Transforming Adult Services Programme annual report. The report includes details about the key achievements, progress against outcomes and the priorities for the service in 2023 – 2024,

The Head of Adult Improvement invited Emma Cleary, Programme Manager, to give the detailed presentation to the panel.

The Programme Manager outlined the background to the development of the Transforming Adult Services Programme (TASP) which started in 2016. The Programme Manager advised the panel that the intention is to bring further updates on progress of the transformation programme annually. The TASP was refreshed following a review in 2021 where opportunities to help streamline and transform services for the better was identified.

The Programme Manager outlined the vision and aims of the programme during Phase 2 of the redesign programme and the key successes to date. The programme is aligned to the Our City: Our Plan The Care Act 2014 and the Wolverhampton City Strategy 2011-2026

The Programme Manager commented on progress against the programme outcomes in the TASP Annual Report 2021-2022 and the priorities for 2022- 2023.

The panel were invited to comment on the report and presentation.

The panel wanted to formally record their thanks and congratulations on the progress made to deliver the outcomes for the transformation programme. The panel asked that a future report detail be provided of the different projects in each of the Council ward areas.

The panel asked for more details of the financial context of the programme in future reports referencing the budget savings figure of £50,000 in the presentation to Outcome 3: Increased use of technology to deliver care services.

The Director of Adult advised the panel that an update on progress of the redesign of adult social care has been sent separately to members which gives information about specific projects.

The Director of Adult Services commented on increased demand on adult social care service and advised the panel that £9 million growth in the budget had been secured this financial year to respond to this issue. The Director of Adult Services reassured the panel that the reason for introducing the transformation programme is not to save money and the aim is to redirect funds through the redesign of services to better match changes in demand across the City.

The panel queried the progress made in achieving the priorities detailed in the Wolverhampton City Strategy 2011 -2026 and the Our City: Our Plan Strategy and asked for an assessment on where the authority is against those strategies, the success measures used to assess progress and specifically the gap between where the service is now and where it needs to be to achieve them.

The Director of Adult Service responded that the indicators for the service are detailed in Our City: Our Plan strategy and highlighted that an important measure of performance used is the proportion of older people (65 and over) who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement/rehabilitation services. The Director of Adult Services commented that Wolverhampton is improving against this measure but needs to improve performance at the regional level.

The Director of Adult Services agreed to include details of the performance of the Council against this and other indicators in the next annual report to the panel. The information will also be included in the quarterly update reports of performance against the indicators in the Our City: Our Plan priorities to the panel.

The Director of Adult Services agreed to respond directly to the panel member query about an assessment of the gap between where the service is now and where it needs to be to achieve the stated priorities

The panel queried if comparative stats would be provided to show progress against the performance measures outlined in the report and that the indicators be SMART. The panel also queried how the existence of the Families Front Door project is being promoted to the public

The Head of Adult Improvement added that measures do need to be SMART and added that these indicators also need to be informed by user experiences of the service.

The Head of Adult Improvement commented that the people involved in the development of the Families Front Door project will be considering any issues raised. The project aims to ensure that people get in contact with the right person or team that they need to talk to get the support needed as quickly as possible.

The panel queried if there was early evidence about the impact of the TASP on addressing issues arising from the Wolverhampton Cares initiative, which highlighted the issue of workforce and recruitment as factors in the challenge when delivering adult social care services. The panel queried the extent to which the service is encouraging more people to consider working in the sector.

The Director of Adult Services accepted that workforce and retention of adult social care workers is an issue but highlighted the need to think about the language used such as describing the sector as a ‘broken service ‘with low pay and exhausted staff will not encourage people to consider a career in the sector.

The Director of Adult Services commented on the importance of acknowledging these issues but also promoting positive messages about the value of the service.

The Director of Adult Services highlighted the importance of getting the right people into the service and focusing on training and developing the workforce while accepting the challenge in doing this at a time when other employers are also wanting to recruit and offering them something different to consider working in Wolverhampton.

The Director of Adult Services commented on other planned changes to better understand the needs of local people to support the priorities outlined in the presentation.

The panel suggested an updated report on progress could be presented to a future meeting.

The Director of Adult Services supported this proposal and had noted the issues raised by the panel which will help inform future reports.

Resolved:

1.    The panel welcomed the report and agreed to receive an update from the Director of Adult Services on progress of the TASP Annual report actions to future meetings as appropriate.

2.    The Director of Adult Services agreed to note the comments of the panel and to provide specific information requested.