NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
21 July 2021
STATEMENT OF COUNTY COUNCILLOR MICHAEL HARRISON
Operating Model for Adult Social Care
A new operating model for adult social care has been implemented following extensive planning and consultation. Working closely with our health and care partners these new arrangements should ensure that we can continue to support our residents and meet longer term social care expectations emerging from central government. These arrangements:
· Ensure we the meet the requirements of the Hospital Discharge Policy this includes –
o 7 day working
o Operational hours between 8am-8pm
o Implementation of the Discharge to Assess model across the county
· Introduce a 7 day community service along with discharge teams (Community Teams and Discharge Hubs)
· Create dedicated occupational therapy teams across the county
· Formalise the introduction of a Vale of York locality
Discharge Pathway long term funding
The challenges posed by a lack of a long term national funding solution for adult social care is demonstrated by new discharge expectations, and the funding provided to meet these expectations. Guidance issued from central government has confirmed that the current hospital discharge fund can no longer be used to support activity to avoid hospital admissions, and alternative NHS funding should be provided. However, because this NHS funding is capped, a forecast overspend to ourselves and local health organisation core budgets is between £0.8m and £1.5m.
We have asked for clarity from the national team about support to manage this potential overspend, as well as clarity from ICS leaders about the place level (North Yorkshire CCG/Vale of York CCG) allocation, so that we can more accurately describe our financial position. Whilst mitigating actions have been taken to reduce spend we are escalating nationally the inconsistencies in current policy and funding, as well as requesting clarification so that we can effectively plan for winter.
Care market intervention in Selby
The Council exercised its powers under the Care Act in June to ensure services were maintained for people in the Selby area when one of our framework home care providers went into liquidation. The service was brought in-house at short notice and we offered employment with NYCC for a number of staff members.
The effort from our own team to facilitate this change at was outstanding, and all care hours were ultimately covered either by staff that were retained, by existing Council colleagues or by outsourcing to alternative providers.
An options appraisal is being prepared to determine the most appropriate way forward for this service given the locality market pressures and low availability of domiciliary care in the area, as these short term arrangements are not sustainable in the longer term.
Reeth Project
A 2 year pilot with Herriot Hospice Homecare has been launched to address the problem of a lack of care homes, domiciliary care and limited access to local social and health community facilities.
Demand for care in the area is predicted to increase due to an ageing population, and this pilot will develop a block contract for the provision of home care in the area, moving away from task and time to one where we commission to an outcome based specification for provision of care for people within a maximum 10 mile radius of the Reeth Medical Practice.
This should increase the availability of rural and super rural care packages, with better collaborative working having a positive impact on service delivery.
CareRooms
In partnership with City of York Council, NYCC has successfully secured pilot funding from the Better Care Team to trial a new and innovative initiative called CareRooms. The 6 month pilot starts in July and covers the City of York and Selby District, and provides a safe, comfortable place for people to recuperate from hospital in a community setting by transforming people’s spare rooms into secure spaces for hospital patients (‘Guests’) who are discharged into the individual’s (‘Hosts’) home. As well as providing a suitable place to recuperate, the arrangements are intended to offer friendship, companionship and some background support with pre-prepared meal delivery.
CareRooms has achieved excellent outcomes when trialled in other authorities – creating capacity in the care system, facilitating timely hospital discharge, promoting friendship, companionship and the capacity to recover and recuperate from treatment in a home environment. There is also potential for financial savings for health and care partners.
Enhanced Care and Housing Offer (ECHO) Project
Broadacres Housing Association has started work on a state of the art £2.3 million project to provide seven two-bedroom specialist bungalows for people with complex needs in North Yorkshire. The homes in Brough St Giles, near Catterick, will be let to people with complex needs, including autism and learning disabilities, with support staff living in one of the homes providing 24-hour-a-day care and support to the residents.
The project is being supported by NHS England, who are providing a grant of £1.89 million towards the cost of the scheme, as well as Richmondshire District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group. The homes should be available next summer.
Bereavement Support for staff
Conscious that staff working throughout the pandemic have experienced higher levels of deaths in their work settings, as well as any impact that the pandemic has had on them personally, we have worked in partnership with MIRT to offer emotional support to all care home, reablement and Extra Care teams. Two 90-minute group sessions have been delivered, with three more planned. These sessions, as well as alternative telephone support options, will be offered throughout 2021 and beyond as required.
Safeguarding Week 2021
Partners from the Adult Children and Community Safety Partnerships across North Yorkshire, York and East Riding came together recently to deliver a virtual Safeguarding Week Conference. Developed for both professional and public audiences, the conference offered a packed schedule of sessions delivered by speakers, all of whom are experts in their field. The professional sessions covered key safeguarding areas and were designed to stimulate discussion, share best practice, spark innovation and support continuing professional development.
Key themes and topics included domestic abuse, financial fraud and scamming, staying safe online, exploitation, mental capacity, homelessness, hidden harm and self-neglect. We also used the campaign to celebrate the great collaborative work of those across the county and highlighted the great spirit of our communities coming together to keep those most at risk safe, particularly during the pandemic.