Issue - meetings

Recommendations

i)               Remove decision making for individuals from the Ethical Decision-Making Framework

ii)              Retain the Ethical Decision-Making Framework for decision making at a tactical, strategic and system level to primarily support Care Provider Services and Quality and Service Continuity decision making

Considered a report of the Corporate Director of Health and Adult Services which reviewed the current Ethical Decision-Making framework in place within Adult Social Care and made recommendations for its future use.  The Executive Member for Health and Adult Services, Councillor Michael Harrison introduced the report explaining that the framework had been adopted in early 2022 in response to pressures brought about Omicron infections on the council’s workforce and that of the wider care sector and the economy.  The framework allowed services to manage risk and prioritise more effectively where necessary and gave colleagues in Adult Social Care the opportunity to discuss and record decisions as part of a more formal framework.  Following a review of the framework, it was proposed to cease using it for decision-making for an individual at an operational level since this could be supported by the current adult social care legal frameworks.

Resolved (unanimously) that the Executive approve the following:

i)               Remove decision making for individuals from the Ethical Decision-Making Framework

ii)              Retain the Ethical Decision-Making Framework for decision making at a tactical, strategic and system level to primarily support Care Provider Services and Quality and Service Continuity decision making

Reasons for recommendations

Having reviewed the use of the Ethical Decision-Making Framework across the last 12 months, it is evidenced that its use is primarily for Care Provider Services and Quality and Service Continuity purposes, therefore there is benefit in the framework remaining in use at tactical, strategy and system level. Where the requests were made for decisions about individuals, the advice/recommendations were to use the current adult social care legal frameworks to support decision making. Therefore, this rationale supports the report’s recommendations