Issue - meetings

That the report be noted and approved.

The Service Manager for the In-House Provider Services introduced himself as the Responsible Individual for Flintshire who ensured that provider services met the statutory requirements as set out in the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care Act 2016 (RISCA).  He reported on how in house regulated services listed below had performed over the last 12 months:

·      Older People’s residential care homes– Marleyfield House, Llys Gwenffrwd and

Croes Atti.

·      Extra Care Housing – Llys Eleanor, Llys Jasmine, Llys Raddington, Plas Yr

Ywen.

·      Older People’s Community Support – Holywell, Deeside and Mold localities.

·      Short-term respite for people with a learning disability – Hafod and Woodlee.

·      Supported Living – 17 houses across Flintshire.

And until recently

·      Childrens services - T? Nyth, Park Avenue and the small Group Homes.  But due to the size of the portfolio Melvin Jones has been appointed as the Responsible Individual.

            In response to questions raised by Councillor Mackie the Service Manager for the In-House Provider Services / Responsible Officer advised that staffing was a challenge and since the pandemic there were 50,000 less care workers across the UK.  He advised that staffing had been given priority and that they had started to see some improvement although pay was a challenge in retaining staff.   He explained that staff were valued and supported particularly if they had a challenging day.  He mentioned one benefit to staff was that they were able to use one of the 6 electric cars on a rota basis to prevent wear and tear on their own cars plus it enabled them to go into work if their car was off the road. He informed members that they were looking into getting more cars in the future. 

 He advised that the 16 beds in Marleyfield were direct discharge from hospital beds and individuals needs were assessed in Marleyfield house by a wraparound team to support their assessment and also their re-enablement for their longer term needs.

The Service Manager clarified the context of the word challenging within the report in relation to the 16 direct discharge from hospital beds at Marleyfield.  He explained that partnering with hospitals inevitably can cause pressures from the hospitals on the manager at Marleyfield when they are aware that beds are available. He added that over recent months they had consistently been operating at 14 to 15 beds occupied.

The Senior Manager for Adults added that it was challenging at times to find the appropriate people with the rehab potential if they were in an acute hospital bed because people de-skill quickly and lose independence.  She explained that there was a particular skill in identifying people with potential to get back to their base and improve and stated that things had improved over the last 12 months in identifying people early on in their journey especially over the last 3 months and that was how they had been able to fill those 16 beds.  She added that they would also be working with 5 people who would have been sent home  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49