Agenda item

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the recommendations/suggestions made by the Committee be taken forward; and

(b)       That officers be encouraged to share details on compliments received for their service areas.

The Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance introduced the annual report on compliments, representations and complaints received by Adult and Children Social Services for the year 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015.  The information included a breakdown of complaints between service areas, and details of how these were resolved, timescales and outcomes.  Whilst there was a statutory duty on councils to adopt their own complaints procedure, the approach taken by Flintshire also included a more independent and personal element by listening to the views of service users and to learn from them.

Social Services for Adults

The Complaints Officer gave an overview of statistics for Adult Social Services for which 56 complaints had been received out of a total of 4,182 service users supported during the period.  As detailed in the report, the Disability Service Manager explained that the increase in complaints for the Learning Disability Service was due to the introduction of a toolkit assessment which calculated the number of respite nights for families.  Some of the 80 individuals assessed had seen a reduction in their allocation, however it was noted that a series of independent review panels chaired by an external independent person had upheld every decision made by the Council through this assessment.  It was reported that 95% of the complaints had been resolved within the required timescale for Stage 1 of the process; where this was not met, the complainant had been kept informed of progress.

On the Learning Disability Service, Councillor Hilary McGuill asked about the frequency of reviewing individuals’ needs/situations.  The Disability Service Manager explained that the statutory requirement was for a formal review to be undertaken annually, and that this would also be instigated for any reported changes in circumstances.  She confirmed that the complaints for that service area were mainly due to the recent changes implemented on respite provision and would therefore expect to see a reduction next year.

The Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance explained that the review formed part of the efficiency programme and that individuals were assessed against the revised framework.

In response to a question from Councillor Mike Lowe, the Disability Service Manager said that there had been no further challenge from the complainants to the outcomes of the assessment, following the independent panel reviews.  However, she said that each case was considered individually and gave an example where respite allocation had been adjusted to support the situation of an individual.

The Complaints Officer highlighted the increase in the number of compliments received since 2013-14, but felt that the figure could be higher still due to reluctance by some officers to share this information.  Councillor Dave Mackie stressed the importance of capturing as much as this data as possible and encouraged officers to pursue this.  The Complaints Officer felt that the majority of compliments were being recorded and that managers and staff were regularly reminded of the need to supply this data.

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin welcomed the increase in compliments relating to Mental Health and Substance Misuse and felt that there was now a higher level of awareness of mental health issues.  Whilst recognising the challenges in recruiting staff for private homecare, he stressed the need for advertisements to include appropriate criteria and training to demonstrate capability.  The Senior Manager said that the minimum job requirements were set by regulators and that the difficulties in attracting and retaining good quality permanent care staff was to be the focus of discussion by a Task Group.  Responding to a query on the drop in the total number of service users since 2012-13, he said it was reasonable to expect some reduction as a result of some moves to reablement services, however the difference could be due to a change in accumulating figures and would clarify this in a separate response to the Committee.  The Chair reinforced the need for clarity on reporting statistics to enable meaningful scrutinising.

Councillor McGuill was pleased to note the detail in the report on compliments.  She raised concerns about the two complaints relating to dignity involving private registered providers and asked if records were kept showing whether those staff had undertaken the dignity training that was available.  The Complaints Officer agreed to check this with the Contract Monitoring Team.

Councillor McGuill also raised concerns about the complaint relating to a lack of clarity and detail on care arrangements (Older People - Intake & Reablement).  The Complaints Officer confirmed that officers had discussed the complaint with the family member and the care staff to ensure that this was resolved and understood by all.  Whilst he could not give any guarantee that this would not be an issue in all cases, he gave assurance that these actions would help to reduce similar complaints in the future.

Following a query on actions taken to address the two proven allegations about care at privately registered homes, it was explained that these were now subject to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) process which involved planning how to manage the risk and putting in place appropriate safeguards.  The Complaints Officer agreed to provide a response to the Committee on what actions were being taken.

Reference was made to direct payments and changes in regulations in respect of pension and sickness benefits.  The Disability Service Manager said that the Chief Officer (Social Services) had agreed that a percentage of the unused allocation of direct payments could be collected by the Council to support those individuals who were subject to financial hardship as a result of the legislative changes.

Following a question from Councillor Ian Smith, the Complaints Officer provided explanation on the complaint relating to the provision of meals from a privately registered domiciliary provider.

The Senior Manager explained that any concerns about service provision such as meals were subject to robust contract monitoring procedures to reassure the Council and to prevent the escalation of complaints.  He also referred to the approach taken by the Council to step beyond normal practice and discuss concerns with complainants to understand what was needed to improve services and to avoid the need for referrals to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Councillor Dunbobbin suggested that representatives of external care providers could be invited to a future meeting of the Committee to raise awareness of the level of scrutiny on performance.  The Senior Manager explained that officers met regularly with the range of external providers working with the Council, and suggested that some Members could be involved with this.  The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator agreed, pointing out that a presentation had previously been given by a senior officer from a domiciliary care organisation.  The Senior Manager suggested that the findings of Task Groups could be reported to the Committee, providing an opportunity for Members to scrutinise and challenge.

The Chair, along with Councillors Dunbobbin and McGuill, all expressed an interest in working with the Task Groups.

A query was raised by Councillor Veronica Gay about the monitoring of out of county care home services for Flintshire residents.  The Senior Manager explained that arrangements were in place for an annual review of the individual’s circumstances and progress involving a visit and contract monitoring checks.  In addition, the care homes were inspected by the relevant regulator.  For domiciliary care, a framework was in place to ensure that the provider was approved and was subject to contract monitoring arrangements to ensure that contractual obligations were being met.

The Senior Manager agreed to ascertain the number of Flintshire residents in out of county care homes and provide a response.  The Chair asked that the response include the number of elderly mentally infirm.

The Disability Service Manager advised that out of county figures for individuals with learning disabilities were in the region of 40 and those with physical disabilities were less than ten.

Social Services for Children

The Complaints Officer reported a reduction in the number of complaints received since the previous year and an increase in the number of recorded compliments. He referred to positive links with the advocacy service which was promoted at various meetings and events.  In providing background on the key issues, he highlighted the significant drop in complaints for Childcare Fieldwork and drew attention to work with managers to improve timescales for resolving complaints within the required timescale.

Councillor McGuill made reference to complaints on nine separate issues made by one foster care couple and asked whether sufficient training was available to avoid potential breakdowns in the fostering system.  The Complaints Officer said that as part of lessons learned from the complaints, consideration was being given to refresher training for foster carers in addition to that provided at the approval stage, which would strengthen the process.

Councillor Dunbobbin paid tribute to the valuable assistance given by his social worker and by the child’s social worker to help him in his capacity as a kinship carer.  Whilst he had found access to training opportunities sometimes difficult due to a variety of reasons, he felt that options for different times would help attendance.

It was explained by the Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance that foster carers had an annual review which identified any training requirements and helped to inform the training programme.  He said that the provision of online training was being explored and that he would seek views on training at a forthcoming meeting with a foster carer group.

Councillor Dave Mackie said it was encouraging to see a reduction in the number of complaints given the significant increase in the number of referrals.  Councillor Dunbobbin reflected on the Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) report which had acknowledged the Council’s positive efforts on corporate parenting.

The Senior Manager Safeguarding: Lead Children commented on initial verbal feedback from the recent CSSIW inspection which had commended staff within the service and the quality of relationships with children and families.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the recommendations/suggestions made by the Committee be taken forward; and

(b)       That officers be encouraged to share details on compliments received for their service areas.