Agenda and minutes

None.

None.

Were agreed as a correct record.

All items were considered in Part 1.

At the request of the Chairman and with the agreement of the Committee, agenda Item 5 (Assistive Technology in Hillingdon:Telecare and Telehealth background report) and Item 6 (Witness session1) were considered as a combined item.

The Head of Commissioning introduced the background report which provided an overview of the current position in Hillingdon in respect of telecare and telehealth and outlined the future direction of the service.

The Head of Commissioning, the Head of Access and Assessment and the Older Peoples Housing Services Operations Manager answered the suggested questions and further supplementary questions from Members. Key points were:

Hillingdon faced a number of challenges which included:

·        an ageing population leading to increased demand for services and greater budget pressures;

·        the national and local policy priority and popular aspiration of preventing avoidable admission into institutional care;

·        contracting council budget arising from national financial situation.

On the role of telecare and telehealth assisting Hillingdon residents to remain independent in their own homes:

• effective integration between Health and Social Care when supported by telecare and telehealth can:
• promote people’s long term health and independence
• improve quality of life for people and their carers
• improve the working lives of health and social care professionals
• provide an evidence base for more cost effective and clinically effective ways of managing long term conditions.

The components of Telecare Services included:

• enquiries and referrals about and for telecare;
• assessment for telecare;
• purchase of telecare equipment;
• equipment installation and collection (when no longer required);
• maintenance of equipment;
• monitoring for alerts;
• alert response.

On accessing telecare in Hillingdon:

• anyone who was a Hillingdon resident, or someone acting on their behalf, can apply for telecare.  The main route for this is through Hillingdon Social CareDirect (HSCD). 
• there were two levels of telecare service in Hillingdon:
  1. Bronze service –the basic service consisting of lifeline, smoke detector and bogus caller alarm.  It was a universal service available to any Hillingdon resident for a monthly charge of £4.91.  The charge was for the monitoring service and not the equipment.  Anyone just wanting the bronze service can approach Careline directly.
  2. Silver service – This level of service was available to Hillingdon residents following a community care assessment.  This enabled residents to access more complex detectors and sensors to support independent living for a monthly charge of £4.91 per month.  Assessments for the silver service were currently undertaken by the Critical, Substantial Teams, Review and Specialist Teams within Adult Social Care and also the Hospital.

• Hillingdon Hospital was a key source of referrals.  It accounted for 45% of referrals during 2009/10 and was responsible for 38% of referrals during the first quarter of 2010/11.

On the mobile response service pilot:

• the pilot was being developed to avoid the numbers of admissionsinto residential or nursing care.
• to be successful it was essential that residents, their families and professionals had confidence in the support structures intended to enable people to live safely in the community.
• the mobile response service would be available 24/7 and would be provided by the in-house Home Care Team. 
• using the in-house Homecare Team ensured access to personal care should this be required and represented a part of its transition to become a reablement service.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

The Head of Improvement ASC,HH introduced the report. The department aimed to resolve problems raised by residents at the earliest opportunity and to learn positively from mistakes. The number of complaints had fallen from 494 in 2008/09 to 315 in 2009/10. 92% of complaints were resolved at stage 1 of the complaints procedure and the number of stage 2 complaints had broadly remained the same. There were only 3 stage 3 complaints compared to 6 in the previous year.

Other actions to improve services and customer outcomes included: improving customer care and communications issues (including reviewing written communications to customers), specific targeted action and visits to care providers and improved monitoring within Hillingdon Homes of their contracts.

Members made the following comments:

1. To congratulate officers on a clear and concise report.
2. To endorse the early intervention strategy employed by officers when dealing with complaints.
3. To note that officers had amended the format of the report from last year to include a brief retrospective so that annual developments and improvements could be tracked.

Resolved –

1. That the report be noted.

The Corporate Director introduced the briefing note.

It was noted that a number of possible options existed for taking the Hillingdon Centre for Independent Living service forward.  These included:

Public sector options, looking at the possibility of generating income by commissioning HCIL to other boroughs or (the Committee) recommending it might be necessary to reprioritise the Council’s current third sector funding and put the service out to tender under a specification that created a unified service. It was noted that the latter option would require the agreement of NHS Hillingdon and Hillingdon Community Health would be required and there would also need to be consultation with GP representatives.

The Independent sector option, that the Committee could recommend the possibility of HCIL being set up as a community interest company which would give HCIL independence from state control and give the freedom to set its own direction as well as to access non-statutory funding.  In this case the agreement of NHS Hillingdon and Hillingdon Community Health would be required and there would also need to be consultation with GP representatives.

Private sector options, looking at a retail model whereby the Council might not fund low risk equipment and that people requiring this equipment would need to go through the retail service.  This could result in an enhanced role for HCIL to provide impartial advice and support and could provide an opportunity for private sector investment. If this approach were selected then it would require approval from Hillingdon Community Health before any arrangements with private equipment providers could be entered into.

Resolved –

1.          That the report be noted.

The Corporate Director provided an update on the transition pilot for young adults.

It was noted that 7 young people in transition had been given personalised budgets. The initial feedback had been very positive and most of the participants felt more confident having selected and managed their care provider/s. Members welcomed the news that a parent of one of the participants had chosen to join the user group.

Resolved –

1.              That the report be noted.

The Committee considered the Forward Plan from September to November 2010.

Resolved -

1. Cabinet Item 491 – NHS White Paper & Future of Hillingdon Homes: To note the committee’s interest and to ask officers to report back on this at a later date as appropriate.
2. Cabinet Item 366 – Private Sector Renewal Strategy: To note the committee’s interest and ask officers to report back on this should there be any significant changes.
3. Cabinet Item 484 – Mental Health Floating support service: Award of Contract. That officers report back on this item at the next meeting.
4. Cabinet Item 486 – Rural Activities Centre - verbal update tothe November meeting
5.  Cabinet Item 487 – Contract Award – Carer Support Services. To note the committee’s interest and maintain a watching brief on this item.

Reference was made to the work programme and timetable of meetings. It was noted that the Safeguarding Adults in Hillingdon – Annual Report would be considered at the next meeting.

Resolved –

1.      That the report be noted.