Agenda and minutes

None.

None.

Were agreed as an accurate record.

All items were considered in Public.

The Head of Early Intervention and Prevention introduced the report which provided an overview of the Shared Lives Scheme (HSL) and an update on the status of the five recommendations made by the Committee which were considered by Cabinet on 12 February 2015.

The Committee noted that the aim of the Shared Lives scheme was to provide accommodation, care and support for a vulnerable adult in a safe, appropriate manner in a family setting.

Examining the progress made on the five recommendations the Committee learnt that:

1. During the past nine months the scheme had reviewed how it recruited carers and offered placements. Despite the challenges, the scheme had managed to increase the number of registered carers to 36, which was inclusive of carers who provide respite.  This was an increase of 3 people who were fully registered and able to provide a service.

There were currently 7 further applications in progress that would give the scheme 43 registered carers.

2.    With regards to the potential challenges and ensuring robust management was in place, the Committee heard thatsystems were in place to recruit new carers, assess any potential service users and ensure the matching process and monitoring of placements were completed to the highest standards.

Officers explained that HSL was a CQC registered scheme and as such, adhered to robust quality auditing and monitoring standards to ensure compliance.  A full compliance inspection was due to take place during 2015/16 and the registered manager reports had already indicated that she was satisfied that standards would be met.

3.    In relation to the recommendation giving consideration to extending the scheme, the Committee were informed that were currently 33 service users in either short, long term or respite placements within the scheme. At present the scheme has the capacity to increase the placements to 40 as identified in the major review and this work was ongoing.

4.    The Committee heard that as part of the scaling up of the scheme, Hillingdon Shared Lives had commenced work with Shared Lives Plus to expand the scheme to 16+ young adults. This action would give opportunities in accommodation to a younger group in order to relieve the pressure on the current building based residential services and to encourage young adults to receive respite care within a family environment whilst focusing upon building semi independent skills to assist them to become independent in the future or consider the scheme for placement as opposed to residential care or supported living in the future.

5.    The final Committee recommendation focused on the importance of appropriate matches being found in the community and consequently the time frame for any extension to the scheme needed to be flexible.

Officers explained that increased numbers of carers that could provide placements was dependent on the marketing plan. In future, the Council would be targeting people who had or were used to caring for young people for the 16+ group.  It was also noted that ground floor accommodation was also a key factor in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The Director of Public Health introduced the report which focused on the health implications of poor housing.

During the course of his presentation, the following points were noted:

Housing and Health

The government-commissioned Black Report [1] placed particular emphasis on housing as a health inequality issue and saw adequate housing as a prime requisite for health.

Housing has long been recognised as an important mechanism for improving people’s health and sense of well-being and for reducing health inequalities between different groups. The relationship between housing and health is, however, a complex one as housing is inextricably linked with other key determinants of health such as the socioeconomic circumstances of individuals and locality factors.

Groups such as those who are already unwell, older people, people with disabilities and the unemployed are among those most likely to live in poor housing and also tend to spend long periods of time indoors exposed to potentially hazardous environments

Indoor dampness and mould problems in homes 

Dampness, moisture and mould in indoor environments have been associated with adverse health effects in population studies in Europe, North America and elsewhere.  Most commonly reported health effects are airways symptoms, such as cough and wheeze, but other respiratory effects, and skin and general symptoms have also been reported. There is a relative lack of knowledge regarding the role of specific exposures in dampness and mould related health problems, largely due to their complex nature,

Housing conditions and home injury

Injuries include burns, poisonings, ingestion of foreign objects, and fire-related injuries (including death from smoke inhalation), as well as drownings, falls, cuts and collisions with objects. Faulty gas and electricity installations can result in carbon monoxide poisoning and risk of fire.

Home injury deaths are highest in children under 5 years of age and then sharply decrease, in contrast to road traffic deaths, which increase with age.

Overcrowding 

Definitions on overcrowding include a normative judgement about the adequacy of personal space in a dwelling and an objective measure of number of people per room in a dwelling.

The effects of overcrowding can include:

• Children’s education may be affected by overcrowding directly, through a lack of space for study, as well as indirectly because of school absences caused by illness
• People with poor health may have difficulty holding down or securing employment and may not be able to afford housing appropriate to their needs.
• People with illnesses may live in overcrowded conditions as a result of their need for care and support from relatives.
• Overcrowding can lead to both physical illnesses such as tuberculosis from close contact with infected co-inhabitants and mental illnesses caused from stress due to invasions of privacy, noise and limited access to facilities.
• Noise from people in adjacent rooms or neighbours can have psychological adverse effects.

Indoor cold and mortality

Cold indoor temperatures are caused by a combination of factors. Firstly, energy inefficient building design and/or heating systems can make homes difficult to heat. In conjunction with poor building characteristics, low household income and high fuel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Resolved -

That the report be noted.

The Committee discussed the Work Programme.

Resolved -

That the Work Programme be noted.