Social Work And Health Committee - 25/08/2008

At a MEETING of the SOCIAL WORK AND HEALTH COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 25th August, 2008.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Bailie Helen WRIGHT, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 9th June, 2008 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I SCOTTISH SOCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL ANNUAL CARE ACCOLADES 2008

There was submitted Agenda Note AN155-2008 advising the Committee that Dundee City Council Social Work Department had won a prestigious national award in recognition of success in its initiatives to retaining staff. The submission reflected the work of the Human Resource Group and many other staff of all grades in relation to:-

7                                             communication;

7                                             staff development;

7                                             staff wellbeing; and

7                                             management development and leadership approach.

The winners of these awards were selected following a rigorous process of completing a written submission and then appearing before a judging panel.

The Convener of the Social Work and Health Committee joined staff from the department and the winning team to collect the award at an award ceremony held in June at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel.

The Committee noted these achievements, and acknowledged the hard work and commitment of the Director of Social Work and his staff.

II THE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT

There was submitted Report No 367-2008 by the Director of Social Work informing the Committee of the work undertaken by the Children's Rights Officer for Children and Young People Looked After by Dundee City Council, for the year 2007/2008.

The Committee agreed to note and approve the annual report on the work of the Children's Rights Officer for the period April 2007 to March 2008.

II SCOTLAND'S CHOICE - REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH PRISONS COMMISSION

There was submitted Report No 413-2008 by the Director of Social Work informing the Committee of the proposals contained in the report of the Prisons Commission which was convened to examine Scotland's use of imprisonment in the 21st Century, highlighting the potential implications arising from the report and identifying what actions could be taken locally to progress the recommendations.

The Committee agreed to note the content of the review and note the further reports that would be provided as the recommendations were progressed nationally and the implications for the delivery of Criminal Justice Social Work Services in Dundee became clearer.

IV ADOPTION SERVICE REVIEW

There was submitted Report No 414-2008 by the Director of Social Work providing the Committee with details of the Review of Dundee's Adoption Service and proposals for service development arising from this Review.

The Committee agreed to:-

(i) approve the contents of Dundee City Council - Review of Adoption Service 2007; and

(ii) note the proposals for service development, having regard to those which can be achieved within existing budget provision and those that will be progressed when future funding is available.

V BEST VALUE REVIEW OF OLDER PEOPLE'S SERVICE

There was submitted Report No 421-2008 by the Director of Social Work presenting, for approval, conclusions and recommendations based upon the findings of the Older People Best Value Review Group. The terms of reference of the review were included as Appendix 1 to this report.

The Committee approved the following recommendations:-

(i) That the partners recognised in policy and development and strategy that the Dundee population is ageing and give priority to adapting infrastructure and universal services to meet the needs of an ageing population;

(ii) The partnership prioritise investment in reducing the number of people waiting for care at home, providing an improved range and more respite care, developing additional accommodation with care, and in the development of intermediate forms of care that assist rehabilitation and prevent unnecessary admission and re-admission to hospital;

(iii) That measures being taken to maintain efficient service delivery and service procurement be continued. The partners incrementally reduce the number of people waiting for care at home and increase the number of care hours available;

(iv) The approach to development of care at home provision outlined in Report No 418-2006 Older People Services be continued to support the achievement of recommendation 2.3;

(v) That the partnership support actions that ensure expenditure on older people reflects the ageing population and that opportunities are sought in the medium term to redress the balance in investment towards older people;

(vi) The recommendations of the multi-agency inspection of older people be taken forward through the implementation of a joint strategy and commissioning framework for older people in Dundee;

(vii) That the current governance arrangements be assessed to ensure that progress towards meeting the objectives, outcomes and targets are scrutinised;

(viii) That the older people strategy and joint commissioning framework developed by the Older People Strategic Planning Group, attached to this report as Appendix 3, be adopted as the commissioning framework against which the progress of the partnership will be assessed;

(ix) That the Older People Strategic Planning Group prioritise as part of their work plan the preparation of a strategy and commissioning framework to meet the needs of people with dementia in Dundee; and

(x) A report that assesses progress against the recommendations of the Multi Agency Inspection of Older People and the outcomes and targets identified in the commissioning framework, attached as Appendix 3 to this report, be submitted to Social Work and Health Committee annually.

VI DUNDEE OLDER PEOPLE STRATEGY

There was submitted Report No 415-2008 by the Director of Social Work presenting for approval of the Social Work and Health Committee a Dundee Older People Strategy for the period 2008/2011.

The Committee agreed to:-

(i) approve the Dundee Older People Strategy with the accompanying commissioning framework and action plan annexed to this report;

(ii) instruct the Director of Social Work to ensure the strategy is published and widely distributed; and

(iii) approve the production of a mid period review of the strategy consulted upon in accordance with paragraph 4.8.1 of this report.

VII STANDARD CHARGES FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY RESIDENTIAL VISITS

There was submitted Report No 417-2008 by the Director of Social Work recommending the level of standard charge to be applied in 2008/2009 for local authority residential accommodation for adults.

The Committee agreed standard charges for local authority residential accommodation as laid out below.

VIII TURRIFF HOUSE RHE - NEW CALL SYSTEM

There was submitted Agenda Note AN154-2008 advising that the existing nurse call system at the above premises had been breaking down on a regular basis recently and was causing severe problems in the running of the establishment. Following an inspection by technical officers in Architectural Services, it was recommended that a completely new system should be installed as a matter of urgency. The call system tried and tested over the last several years by Social Work is that provided by Chubb and with the approval of the Chief Executive a quotation was sought from Chubb to carry out the installation of a new nurse call and door entry system at Turriff House RHE.

A quotation was duly received and the cost of the works is as follows:-

The cost of this project will be funded from the Social Work Department's Capital Plan 2008/2009.

Accordingly, an acceptance has been issued to the contractor so that the work can commence as soon as possible.

Helen WRIGHT, Convener.