Issue - meetings

(Report of the Scrutiny Review Panel) – To agree the conclusions and recommendations of the Review

Councillor Jean Brown introduced the Report to the Committee highlighting exactly what Intermediate Care is. Cllr J Brown identified the key findings of the Report before making the following recommendations to the Committee:

(i)                 That a 5 year Strategic Plan be developed for Intermediate Care

(ii)               That a single point of access to Intermediate Care be developed.

(iii)             That provision be made for an Intermediate Care Co-ordinator, jointly funded and accountable across health and social care for the delivery of an integrated service, ideally with a pooled budget for the whole service

(iv)              That a whole systems approach to joint workforce planning be adopted.  Teams should work towards being multi-disciplinary to include therapy, nursing and social services staff working within a rehabilitation focus. The management structures should be reviewed to ensure that the service is able to work in more integrated ways.

(v)                That partners work together to ensure the complete implementation of the single assessment process.

(vi)              That the eligibility criteria be reviewed to enable Intermediate Care to become more person centred rather than service driven. In particular consideration should be given to the requirement of people with the more complex needs profiles and also those under 50 years of age who currently are not included within service criteria at all.

(vii)            That consideration be given as to how the Intermediate Care Service can be supported in a more formal way by specialist mental health expertise. This would enable appropriate care packages to be developed for older people with physical needs who additionally have mental health needs. Further consideration should be given to the plans for developing Broadwater Lodge for people with dementia.

(viii)          That the possibility of Greentrees being used for the provision of step down facilities be revisited.

(ix)              That the current charging policy be reviewed to ensure fairness of provision across the service.

(x)                That the strategic partner services undertake a process mapping exercise to identify how Service Users currently access Intermediate Care and then redesign the process to ensure a clear pathway approach.

(xi)              That the service be rebadged as a generic Intermediate Care Service.

(xii)            That Intermediate Care Services work towards the provision of a 24 hour, 7 day a week access to Intermediate Care and identify a timescale for achieving this goal.

RESOLVED:

·                    That the report of the Scrutiny Review Panel: Intermediate Care Services (February 2006) and the conclusions and recommendations of the review be endorsed; and

·                    that the report be referred to the Executive for its consideration.