Throughout this report we have identified many examples of important current and continuing work within our service areas going forward into 2020-2021. The Childrens Service Development Project and Mental Health developments have been identified as key strategic priorities for the year ahead. Please see the Quality Standards 2 section for more details.
Older People’s Transformation
The Older People’s Transformation has been established with an aim to emulate the vision as defined by ‘A Healthier Wales’. This strategy is focused upon a long-term vision for a ‘whole system approach to Health and Social Care’ based on health and well-being, and on preventing illness. Conwy’s vision for Older People’s Services aims to reflect and support this vision. Conwy is focused on providing services to older people that are personalised and responsive. The key to ensuring this type of delivery is ensuring that older people live in an environment of their choice, feel valued and supported, individuals who live with dementia feel supported and there is a well-planned and collaborative approach to meeting needs.
This work will focus on:
- Providing and delivering integrated care of older people alongside Health services
- Providing a range of accommodation options for older people
- Reviewing service delivery and developing new models that prevent people going into long-term care
- Commissioning by outcomes and providing person-centred care for older people
- Enabling older people to maintain their independence and remain in their own home for longer
- Becoming a county of excellence in the provision of dementia care for older people and their carers.
We have outlined a number of anticipated benefits. For example, a reduction in the need for older people to go into long-term residential care, reduced long term domiciliary care, improved service provision for people living with dementia and their Carers, and increased training and upskilling of staff, to name but a few.
Grant funding from the Welsh Government’s Integrated Care Fund has been made available to support some of the projects within the programme, namely:
- Dementia Services
- Community Resource Teams and locality development
- Reablement facilities within the county
This work also links in with the values and vision of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
Compliance with New Guidance
Welsh Government Code of Practice and Performance Management Framework
From 1st April 2020, all local authorities will be implementing a new Code of Practice as directed by Welsh Government under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. The Code of Practice has a number of purposes which all LAs must be aware of and comply with. This includes setting out the quality standards and the new performance management framework on which we are required to report our performance to Welsh Government on an annual basis. The Code of Practice also aims to enable people to understand the quality of care and support they are entitled to from their LA and enable understanding to how LAs are measured in relation to delivering Social Services.
The Code should enable LAs to focus on how we perform; understand the importance of capturing data and how this can be used to inform improvement; provide accountability and ensure that practitioners are skilled, well qualified and supported.
In addition from 1st April 2020, work will be ongoing to implement a new suite of Welsh Government measures to be reported on an annual basis.
Adopting the new Wales Safeguarding Procedures
The Wales Safeguarding Procedures build on the statutory guidance of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Procedures have been written to provide clear guidance and expectations for safeguarding both adults and children. They aim to help anyone who works with adults or children (whether through paid or unpaid work) to apply the legislation and statutory guidance of the Act to their roles and duties by explaining what their responsibilities are and how to meet them. Through following the Procedures our practitioners will ensure that they achieve the best possible outcomes for children and adults at risk, their Carers and families, across Wales.
After holding briefing sessions for all staff in March, hosted by the Wales Safeguarding Procedures Implementation Group, the procedures will go live on 6 April 2020. We will then be working hard during 2020-21 to embed the Procedures into our everyday roles and responsibilities as standard practice. Staff will be confident to:
- Ensure that the voices of individuals and the “what matters” questions are involved in the process of safeguarding.
- Use the professional judgement of practitioners to meet the identified needs of individuals, in a framework where practice is standardised between agencies across Wales.
The Procedures will be easily and readily available to as many people as possible via an online platform and free app, and all staff will be encouraged to access them.
Welsh Community Care Information System (WCCIS)
WCCIS is an electronic case management system being adopted by local authorities and Health Boards throughout Wales. It will provide a single client/patient record and allow us to share individuals’ information securely and conveniently with Health colleagues, transforming how we deliver care and support in our communties.
The project team tasked with implementing WCCIS has made good progress during 2019-20 and are on schedule to complete the project within the timescale. The team have worked with all service areas within Social Care to map out their current and future processes and plan how these will be incorporated into the system. This has been a sizeable and vital piece of work, ensuring that our services are fully involved in the implementation, and that they buy-in to the project.
As well as the reporting and archiving of historical records, the team are now focusing on delivering system training to all staff who require it (approx 675 people) to ensure that they are confident to use it once it goes live. Sessions are planned for autumn 2020 and we will provide an update on progress in next year’s report.
Working together to make our services more accessible
Throughout the report we have demonstrated how we work with partners both within the local authority and externally to deliver services which are accessible to all. It is our aim going forward into 2020-21 to continue our journey working with teams such as Housing, Regulatory, Education, IT, BCUHB and third sector organisations. Below is a great example of collaboration between our Disabilties Service and BCUHB to deliver an exciting supported housing scheme as part of the LD Transformation Programme.
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Learning Disability Transformation Programme – Jointly Funded Supported Housing (Conwy) Scheme Planning Group
As part of the wider LD Transforation Programme, Conwy Council and Besti Cadwaladr University Health Board have agreed to move towards the establishment of a jointly commissioned model of supported housing for a small number of individuals with complex needs. It is anticipated that this model of housing will help to reduce the need for out of county placements and could be seen as a blueprint across the region. In order to progress the work a multi-disciplinary group has been established.
The establishment of this model of housing requires a number of different work-streams, each with a distinct anticipated outcome. The group brings together relevant professionals with a view to identifying, agreeing, implementing and monitoring the actions required in relation to each of these four work-streams:
- Work Stream 1: The People
Outcome: Three compatible individuals will be ready to move into the property - Work Steam 2: The Service
Outcome: A specialist service will be established, with trained staff in place - Work Stream 3: The Property
Outcome: There will be an appropriately designed/adapted property ready for people to move into - Work Stream 4: The Funding
Outcome: Joint Health and Social care funding will be in place, along with a joint funding agreement
In order to be effective, the group requires various levels of representatives from the local authority and Health. The group will also meet on a frequent basis. Although timescales are currently difficult to predict, the group will exist in its current format until the programme for the jointly funded model of housing is complete.
