Agenda item

The Head of Enforcement and Audit and Head of Disability and Mental Health Services introduced the report which provided a summary of the recent audit of residential to independent living. The objective of the audit was to ensure that the transition from Swakeleys Road Supported Housing Unit to independent living was efficient, effective and economical

It was noted that LBH’s Swakeleys Road Supported Housing unit provides a transition service (from six months to two years) for adults with a learning disability to learn the skills needed for independent living. The Floating Support Outreach Team support Swakeleys Road by offering person centred services to each resident who lives in their own or unstaffed shared tenancies.  

The following points were noted:

The audit found that the following risks had been appropriately addressed:

·        All Supported Housing Workers and the Supported Housing Unit Managers hold the relevant NVQ qualification in Care of at least level 3.

·        Daily log records detailing support provided to service users at Swakeleys Road are maintained.

·        Suitability assessments are carried out prior to admission to the unit

Areas noted for improvement are detailed below:

SERVICE PROVISION

• There was a lack of detailed operational procedures outlining who should produce, review and authorise support plans.  This made it difficult to verify that support was co-ordinated or consistent.
• That the floating support was only being provided from 9 till 5, which may not meet the needs of every client. This concern was addressed by management before the conclusion of the audit and out of hours support was restored.
• That support plans had not been reviewed in line with the scheduled dates. 
• Staff supervision meetings and PADAs (Performance and Development Assessments) were not being regularly undertaken.

FINANCIAL CONTROLS

• There was no clear guidance on the level of financial support users should receive, either while at Swakeleys or when living in the community.
• Although users had safes they did not have unique pin numbers for these. The service would be enhanced if staff conducted a monthly review of spending with residents.
• There was no recent review of the rent an amenity charges at the facility and recommended that this be reviewed to ensure costs were being recovered.

Resolved –

1. It was noted that all the recommendations contained in the report had been implemented before the report was formally issued.

In addition to considering the Audit report, the Customer Engagement Manager introduced further information arising from an interview with Cllr George Cooper. This feedback was based on his experience at the Post Office and highlighted the types of issues service users might encounter when using pre paid cards

The following points were noted:

• Key issues arising included:

                                 I.      The importance of involving local stakeholders - Like Uxbridge College and Brunel University and drawing on their experience with working with people with a learning difficulty and running access courses for individuals.

                               II.      Advice, information and signposting in an emergency – Considering what might happen if a vulnerable person mislaid a pre-paid card and what the impact of that would be if they could not access the funds they needed to pay for care?

                              III.      Safeguarding - preventing organised crime  - Examining how pre-payment cards are being distributed and ensuring this is robust and ensuring the Council takes steps to identify and prevent criminal activity

                           IV.      Safeguarding individuals – Ensuring measures are in place to ensure vulnerable people are not subject to financial abuse as a result of having additional money and whether there will be an emergency number or out of hours number in the event of an emergency.

                             V.      Payment issues – The withdrawal of money, the capacity of card users and regular monitoring of spending patterns to ensure a personalised budgets is being spent in accordance with the care plan.

Resolved –

1. That all the  key learning points from the case studies would be taken back to the Transformation Team to highlight those areas which required future testing and to inform future training
2. That the issues highlighted would be incorporated into progress updates and feedback to be provided moving forwards