Agenda item

Progress report for the previously completed Care at Home review.

The Select Committee was asked to consider the evidence and assessments of progress contained within the Progress Update on the implementation of previously agreed recommendations in relation to the review of Care at Home.

The progress update set out actions in respect of the following recommendations which were presented for Select Committee approval and assessed as fully complete:

Recommendation 2: A regular feature is included within Stockton News regarding the local Care at Home sector (i.e. good news story, staffing opportunities, etc.).

All actions were now fully achieved. Monthly SWAPS were proving effective with between 6-12 people accessing the programme. To date 42 providers had engaged with interviewing on the SWAP Programme.

Providers requested support from the Employment and Training Hub on a regular basis to fill vacancies and CVs from prospective candidates were shared with Providers.  Providers were now regularly advertising vacancies on the Hub Portal.

Recruitment and retention had improved across the sector.

Recommendation 4: SBC reinforce with local providers the need to ensure service-users and their families / informal carers are fully (and repeatedly) aware of how to raise an issue / complaint regarding the care they are receiving (including directly to the provider themselves or to SBC) and that this is responded to in a timely manner.

All actions were now fully achieved.

Members referred to the complaints data that had been provided as part of the March 2024 update and requested that up to date complaints information be circulated to the Select Committee.

Recommendation 5: Providers ensure their back-office functions are adequately staffed and that appropriate mechanisms are in place to keep service-users updated on any changes to planned visits (whether these be in relation to timings or actual staff attending).

Recommendation 6: As far as possible, providers set a multiple-week rolling staff rota and that this is shared on a weekly basis with service-users (and, where relevant, families / informal carers).

All actions were now fully achieved and all six Care at Home providers had a full PAMMS assessment completed by the end of March 2024. Any areas that were scored as Requires Improvement (RI) on PAMMS had measures put in place by the provider to ensure service was delivered to a Good standard. Assurance for this had been evidenced through contractual meetings.

Recommendation 7: SBC, in conjunction with local providers, continues in its efforts to raise the profile of the care sector within the Borough.  To boost the status of care workers and give reassurance to those individuals / families seeking support, this should include lobbying for Care at Home staff to be regulated through a national register (e.g. inclusion within the Health and Care Professions Council) and investigating the feasibility of a local register.

All actions were now fully achieved. Support from SBC towards the wider Skills for Care Workforce Strategy meant that discussions and progress for registration for Care workers was now being picked up nationally and at the right level to produce an impact.

Managers were engaged in registration with Skills for Care and had access to training and resources which could be used to support provider quality, service development and staff training.

Currently Stockton was ranked 4th nationally for level of compliance with the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set with just under 50% able to access the Learning and Development funding. This data was also used to shape national strategy to support the wider Social Care workforce.

Recommendation 10: The use of 15-minute welfare calls is minimised and used only when appropriate as part of a wider package of care.

All actions were now fully achieved. Adult social care teams and providers were much more aware of technology that was available as an alternative and as a useful addition to formal care packages. In October and November referrals to OneCall for assistive technologies had doubled as a result of better education and scrutiny from Adult Social Care management teams.

Recommendation 11: SBC continue to explore and deploy other options to support welfare, including tele-assist and technology.

All actions were now fully achieved. One Call continued to explore options for technologies to support safety and service delivery and a pilot was commenced in August to evaluate the impact of activity monitoring in Adult Social Care. This has demonstrated a reduction in admission to residential care settings, prevention and reduction in the need for Care at Home packages.

The NE ADASS target had been met with over 125 staff competing the virtual training.

Recommendation 12: Consideration be given to standardised questions for providers to issue to their clients in order to evaluate quality and performance, and for responses to be submitted to SBC as contract managers.

All actions were now fully achieved. A standardised survey had been developed in line with the CQC framework and would be completed during 2025/26 as outlined in the service specification. All six Care at Home providers had a full PAMMS assessment completed by the end of March 2024.

Recommendation 13: SBC varies the Call Scheduling and Monitoring element of the specification for a Care at Home and Domestic Support Service to ensure local providers offer (and issue where requested) non-electronic logbooks to document visits to an individual’s home, and that this option is reflected within their service-user information packs.

All actions were now fully achieved. A new Care at Home contact commenced 3 November 2024. Section 20.3 stated:

“Records: The Service Provider must maintain in the Service User’s home, a detailed record which shall contain relevant information concerning the Service User’s Care and Support Plan and actions taken in its delivery and be updated on a daily basis recording the start and end times of service delivery and the name of the Care and Support Worker.  Records will be secure, up to date and in good order and constructed, maintained and used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and other statutory requirements and are kept for the requisite length of time.”

Compliance would be monitored through general contract management reviews.

AGREED

(1)  That the progress update be noted and the assessment of progress be confirmed.

(2)  That up to date complaints data from providers be circulated to the Select Committee.