Adult Services Cabinet Member – minutes – 19 November 2009

45 (5) PROGRESS ON THE PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS WITH NHS NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE – The Service Director Adult Social Care submitted a report updating on the progress of partnership arrangements with NHS North Lincolnshire.

The North Lincolnshire Sustainable Community Strategy set out how partners would work together to address the economic, social and environmental needs of the local population. The Health Act 1999 removed all the obstacles to joined up working across health and social services. At this time both agencies were expected to join up their commissioning of services and integrate their budgets. Locally, this happened for people with learning disabilities and adults with mental health needs.

The Executive Strategic Commissioning Board was established in April 2009 to provide opportunities to integrate further joined up commissioning extending beyond learning disabilities and mental health. The board was also tasked with producing a set of fully integrated commissioning strategies that identified the social and health needs of the vulnerable adult groups.

The original strategies were at that stage mainly focused on the social needs of the groups. They were highly technical documents, which the commissioning services needed to use to evidence their competence in commissioning. The strategies had been turned into accessible summaries for consultation with the various partnerships.

Resolved – (a) That the development of the four commissioning strategies, covering older people, people with disabilities, people with learning disabilities and carers, be noted, (b) that Cabinet approved the Carers Strategy at its meeting on 14 October 2009 be noted, (c) that the move to share the strategies with the various partnership groups be supported, and that the continued intention to fully integrate these with NHS North Lincolnshire be supported.

46 (6) ‘EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE’ – The Service Director Adult Social Care submitted a report outlining Adult Social Services requirement and commitment to improve engagement and involvement of vulnerable adults across North Lincolnshire, and seeking endorsement to develop and trial ‘Expert by Experience’ posts.

Adult Social Services had commenced its ‘Fit for the Future’ project looking at the structures and culture required into the future. One of the key challenges for local authorities was to listen actively to their citizens, placing them more in control of their own lives, supporting real involvement and control over policy setting and service delivery at national and local levels.

Adult Social Services had used a range of different approaches across North Lincolnshire to improve the involvement of vulnerable adults in service planning, delivery and evaluation. No formal payment had been made to citizens who had worked in partnership with Adult Social Services to improve local support structures and services.

There had been a move over more recent years towards acknowledging citizens who had been recipients of services as being ‘Experts by Experience’, whose skills to be effective partners should be recognised and supported more formally and increase the user voice in shaping the future. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) initiated an ‘Expert by Experience’ project in early 2006. The project recruited and trained people who had experience of social care services from diverse backgrounds to become active in a range of service inspections.

It was proposed that five ‘Experts by Experience’ be recruited by Adult Social Services. The overall role of the posts would be to advise, support and guide the Strategic Commissioning and Performance team to engage and involve citizens effectively in planning, reviewing and monitoring the quality of the services commissioned.

Resolved – (a) That the proposals within the report be endorsed, and (b) that the report be referred to the Corporate Services Cabinet Member for approval.