Agenda item

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

(i)    Approve, invoke and implement the proposed Adult Social Care Ethical Decision Making Framework.

(ii)   Delegate to the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services (as the Council’s statutory director of adult social services) the power to invoke and implement the measures as set out in this report including taking all decisions necessary to implement the Ethical Decision Making Framework and any other decisions the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may deem necessary regarding Adult Social Care Services delivery in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.  The Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may where appropriate consult with the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services).

(iii)  Instruct the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services to present a monthly report to the Executive Member and to Management Board on the appropriate decisions so they can be reviewed.

(iv)  Approve that review of the framework in April 2022

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director – Health and Adult Services setting out the proposed arrangements for Adult Social Care governance and prioritisation in response to Omicron Covid-19 and the anticipated surge in infections and how that will potentially impact on service delivery across Adult Social Care and the wider health and social care system.

County Councillor Michael Harrison introduced the report and confirmed that the Care Sector was facing significant challenges as a result of the impact of the pandemic and therefore there was a need to endorse the arrangements being made to get ahead of the situation and make sure that an effective decision making framework was in place for issue relating to care at both a strategic and operational level, and also on a case by case basis. These provisions were being proposed in the absence of a national legal framework, given that the Coronavirus Act Care Act provisions had now lapsed.

He noted it would also ensure an appropriate record of the decisions taken and the reasons for those decisions.

Richard Webb – Corporate Director for Health & Adult Services confirmed the legislation for the Corona Virus Act expired in July 2021 and that the County Council wanted a mechanism in place to manage the arrangements in the winter period.  He noted the proposals in the report would provide the legal framework for any required practice changes, and would assist the urgent prioritisation and delivery of services to the public in a timely and efficient manner.  It would also ensure transparency in the decision process and provide a mechanism for an ongoing review of the arrangements.

He suggested that rather than waiting for a national solution from Government, the Authority was seeking to put in place some local preventative measures now.

Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) confirmed the report was not seeking permission not to comply with the Council’s statutory responsibilities.  He noted these would continue, but in order to plan for future decisions, it was seeking a framework which allowed officers to make and record difficult decisions with regards to the available resources in an ethical manner.

Executive Members noted note the proposal would provide an auditable record of the decisions taken, and recorded their trust in the Corporate Director for Health & Adult Services and his team, to make the right decisions at the right time. 

All Executive Members voted in favour of the recommendations in the report and it was

Resolved: That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

(i)    Approve, invoke and implement the proposed Adult Social Care Ethical Decision Making Framework.

(ii)   Delegate to the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services (as the Council’s statutory director of adult social services) the power to invoke and implement the measures as set out in this report including taking all decisions necessary to implement the Ethical Decision Making Framework and any other decisions the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may deem necessary regarding Adult Social Care Services delivery in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.  The Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may where appropriate consult with the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services).

(iii)  Instruct the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services to present a monthly report to the Executive Member and to Management Board on the appropriate decisions so they can be reviewed.

(iv)  Approve that a review of the framework be undertaken in April 2022