Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from co-Chair, Cllr Helen Howell as well as Cllrs Ken Harrington, Russell Roberts, Geoff Shacklock and Chris Smith-Haynes. It was noted the Cllr Paul Marks was acting as substitute for Cllr Smith-Haynes.

There were no declarations received.

RESOLVED that:-

The minutes of the meeting held on 6^th October 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To provide details of the work in progress for the Adult Social Care Strategy

The Chair welcomed Ali Gilbert, ICS Director of Place to the meeting to provide an overview of the development of the North Northamptonshire Adult Social Care five-year strategy for adult social care provision and commissioning covering 18-year-olds to adults, including progression transition from 14 years onwards.

The meeting noted that the strategy was being co-produced with the Council’s Adult Social Care workforce and service users, demonstrating solid engagement and wide ownership. It was heard that the strategy was currently in its 13^th draft iteration and was progressing through partner organisations and internal meetings for comment. Details of the five-year vision, aims and ambitions including values and behaviours had been developed based on staff practice framework outputs.

The panel heard that the strategy was designed to align with A New Sense of Place (Local Area Partnerships (LAPS) and to support North Northamptonshire Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) collaborative initiative as well as the statutory requirements of the Care Act.

It was reported that the development of the strategy had been ongoing since April 2023, with a view to implementation by March 2024, with a sub-group of the Operational Working Group currently examining the development of a co-production framework. Further governance details were provided to the meeting, with reference made to the focus on community hubs through the Moving Forward with Place sub-group.

The meeting noted that the vision for the strategy was to co-produce Adult Social Care Services in a way that was meaningful, and person centred by incorporating the core values for North Northamptonshire which included:

·       Customer Focussed: Individuals, their families and carers, could expect person centred care, tailored to the circumstances, strengths and needs of the individual and that demonstrated their desired outcomes.

·       Respectful: Individuals, their families and carers could expect to be always treated with dignity, having support that recognised their capability and ambitions whilst promoting independence and being treated as equals.

·       Trustworthy: Individuals, their families and carers could expect open, honest and regular communication in a manner and frequency agreed by them that involved active listening to ensure mutual understanding and where needed, additional support to aid participation and understanding as well as increased involvement and recognition of their role as experts in their own lives.

·       Efficient: Service users and their families could expect timely, high-quality information, advice, assessments and support to ensure that their individual needs were met, a shared understanding of what constituted high quality care and how this was demonstrated and measured.

·       Supportive: Individuals, their families and carers would be able to make decisions about what is right for them, their quality of life was improved, and they were enabled to participate as valued members of the wider community.

The meeting noted that behaviours and cultures within the adult social care team were very important, and the draft strategy, once approved, would represent a cultural shift in the way of working following feedback from staff.  Details of the future strength-based way of working were detailed as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

To inform the Forward Plan

The Chair invited Samantha Fitgerald, Assistant Director for Adults Services to provide a service presentation for Adult Services.

The meeting was provided with an outline of the staff that comprised the team, noting their diverse backgrounds and that the Chief Principal Social Worker worked across all portfolios. The Assistant Director for Adults Services stated that there was a desire to invest in the workforce, to allow for sustainability moving forward and to produce staff in-house, noting that work was underway to build this culture within the Council and answer some of the challenges faced in both recruitment and retention.

Details of the service objectives were provided, with the meeting noting that the ultimate role of the team was to undertake the statutory assessments of need in line with the Care Act 2014 by focussing on a strengths-based practice to deliver that outcome.

The meeting heard that the team supported Adult Social Care Services through a ‘Three Conversation Model’ offering a person-centred and outcome-focused service. The service worked in partnership with those requiring support to help individuals live more independently and achieve the right outcomes for them. It was noted that this could be through their own resources, their family and friends, community networks, or formal support through a variety of locations and teams as detailed below:

·       Community Hubs (4)

·       Inclusion Hubs (4) 

·       Learning Disability Hubs (2) 

·       Dedicated Adult Social Care Hospital team  

·       Continuing Health Care Team

·       Care Home Review Team

·       Reablement North 

It was heard that within all the teams and services work was undertaken alongside partner agencies putting service users at the centre of activity to produce consistently better outcomes for people. As the place project continued work would be undertaken to ensure hubs were as accessible as possible.

The meeting was advised that the service operated a strengths-based approach working with adults over the age of 18 and supporting adults with mental health, physical health, vulnerabilities, age-related issues and learning disabilities. A significant amount of work had been undertaken with staff to assist in the understanding of this approach.

The “three-conversation” model for service users saw initial contact to connect and listen to the outcomes people wished to achieve from the service. Conversation two would consist of intensive work with the person seeking support, with conversation three providing longer-term formalised care and support.

Details of the service road map of the journey through Adult Services was provided to the meeting. Cllr John McGhee queried the timescales involved between interventions for service users and noted in response that they were specific to the individual and dependent on their needs.

The meeting received details regarding Community Hubs as being the “front door” for the service, managing all new referrals coming through Adult Social Care, with the exception of those with learning disabilities. Referrals were then progressed through the ‘three-conversation’ model focusing on early intervention and outcome-focused services. ?Community teams also provided long-term social care support to people over 65 years of age, including re-assessment and reviews as well  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

The Executive Forward Plan covering Key Decisions to be taken between December 2023 and March 2024

The Executive Forward Plan for December 2023 to March 2024was noted.

The forward list of items for the EAP was considered.

There being no further business, the Chair thanked Members and Officers for their attendance and closed the meeting.