Agenda item

To present the report of the Director of Social Services.

The report of the Director of Social Services which documented progress to date in Children and Families’ Services and in Adults’ Services was presented for the Committee’s consideration. Attached to the report for information purposes was the Social Services Representations and Complaints Procedure Annual Report for 2022/23 along with the first issue of the Age Friendly Anglesey Newsletter.

The Head of Adults’ Services provided an overview of recent activities and developments in Adults’ Services as those were outlined in the report and reference was made to service developments with regard to Learning Disabilities Day Services and Domiciliary Care. The visit to the Anglesey Dementia Centre in Llangefni by the Welsh Government’s Minister for Health and Social Care and Anglesey’s becoming a member of the World Health Organisation’s Network of Age Friendly Communities and Cities were also highlighted.

The Director of Social Services summarised the ongoing work in Children and Families’ Services including work to become a Trauma Informed Island and to progress the Virtual School Model as well as the first year of summer activities by the Youth Service. Particular mention was made of the two awards won by Maethu Môn Cymru at the 2023 Fostering Excellence Awards with the service having been successful in the “Fostering Network Award for Kinship Carers” and the “Fostering Network Award for a Social Work Team.”

In documenting Social Services activities as part of the latest progress update and journey the Director of Social Services highlighted the pressures on both Children and Families’ Services and Adults’ Services in the form of recruitment challenges which are not unique to Anglesey and increasing demand and complexity of needs which in turn have implications for the budgets of both services.

In reviewing the report the Committee discussed the following matters –

·      Noting and acknowledging the developments to date and recognising that the upcoming winter period could prove challenging, the Committee wanted to know what the priorities for Social Services over this next period were.

·      The reasons behind the increase in demand across both services and whether this is an area that might benefit from closer examination by the Social Services Scrutiny Panel.

·      The deployment of agency staff from outside Wales in the Council’s Cartrefi Clyd from the perspective of cost and the provision of a bilingual service.

·      The provision and availability of dementia services.

·      That it would have been helpful to have received feedback regarding the actions taken and improvements made as a result of complaints and comments received in the Annual Representations and Complaints Procedure Report for 2022/23.

Officers responded to the issues raised by the Committee as follows –

·      By advising that Social Services in the coming months will be looking at the ways in which services for clients are provided with a view not to reduce the level of service provided but to ascertain whether services can be provided differently e.g. by greater use of technology in service delivery and by closer co-operation with partners in the Health Service to work more creatively in designing and delivering care packages. Focusing on preventative offers by utilising grant funding and developing and extending existing projects to that end will also help in reducing hospital admissions. The Service seeks to make the best use of the resources it has with one example being the pooling of Learning Disability services with Health through joint commissioning thereby making better use of staff time and leading to an improved service for individuals.

·      By confirming that the demand for services has increased steadily since the Covid pandemic with many individuals more fragile in health as a result; the number of children and young people presenting with mental health issues has also risen. Additionally, people are living longer meaning there are greater numbers with health needs due to old age. Local authorities across the region are reporting a similar increase in demand for services and information is being shared and the reasons behind it are being investigated. The Director of Social Services confirmed that he would be happy for the Social Services Scrutiny Panel to examine the issue more closely.

·      By clarifying that Social Services engage agency staff through a recruitment agency which manages the process for the service, and whilst the agency the service has worked with has normally recruited on a local basis that is not always possible and staff are occasionally engaged from among a wider geographical pool. The recruitment challenges in the care sector are well known and are ongoing and the service has sought to overcome these challenges through offering competitive rates of pay including for Cartrefi Clyd staff and by proactively promoting the care sector as a career pathway through Coleg Menai for example. However more work needs to be done to raise the profile of the sector and to look at innovative ways of addressing recruitment issues on a permanent basis. In the meantime agency staff are being deployed to fill any gaps in the staff rota.

·      By advising that three voluntary services which support people with dementia have come together at the Anglesey Dementia Centre located at the Glanhwfa Centre in Llangefni to create a memory assessment service for those clients, and grant funding has been invested in the Garreglwyd residential home to ensure it is safe and secure for dementia sufferers. A Dementia Day Centre is located at Plas Crigyll residential care home. Social Services recognise that dementia can be a difficult and complex condition and are hoping to be able to provide further dementia care at Garreglwyd and within the community in future.

It was resolved –

·      To confirm that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee is reassured that the continued progress made by Social Services is reasonable and timely.

·      To recommend to the Executive that the progress and pace of improvements in Social Services are timely and adequate.

Actions:

·         Social Services Scrutiny Panel to look at the demand pressures in Social Services with a view to identifying the possible reasons behind the increase.

·         Director of Social Services to provide Councillor Aled M. Jones with information on the deployment of agency staff in Cartrefi Clyd homes.