Issue - meetings

To receive the report of Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults.

RECEIVED the report of Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults.

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care introduced the report and extended thanks to the panel for the invitation to attend. The report provides an update on the implementation of the Quality Assurance Framework action plan which is expected to be implemented in October 2023. Aspects of the act are welcomed, in terms of the integration work, but it is very ambitious and does not really tackle the immediate pressures faced in the Health & Social Care system. It is a challenging time for Local Authorities on the back of ten years of austerity, the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis. However, despite all this Cllr Cazimoglu said she was confident that Enfield Council will be prepared come October 2023. It is a very important piece of work, and she welcomed the interest that the committee is showing.

Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults highlighted the key messages and explained that the work is in preparation for the new duty for the Care Quality Commission to assess how Local Authorities are meeting their Adult Social care duties and how Enfield Adult Social Care are preparing for these inspections. CQC’s new responsibilities under the Health and Care Act are twofold. Firstly, there will be a role in reviewing Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and secondly a new duty is placed on the CQC to assess how Local Authorities are meeting their social care duties under part 1 of the Care Act. Emerging CQC scope for reviews of Adult Social Care has started to be shared. The assessment framework has been grouped into four key themes, each with several quality statements mapped to them and these are set out in the report. A self -assessment tool developed by ADASS (the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) is being used to ensure that the desired processes are in place, or being worked towards, and that evidence is being regularly collated. CQC will speak to staff at all levels of the organisation as well as partners and those who use the services, their families, and partners.

Questions and comments were invited from Panel members.

The Chair, Cllr Hockney asked what the drive behind this change of process had been. Officers were not sure but said that there is an expectation from the Government for some sort of regulation for all large health bodies so this could be seen as an additional statutory layer. It is also about assuring that Local Authorities are carrying out their duties under the care act, as well as gaining an understanding of the system and how it works.

In response to a further question from Cllr Hockney as to what benefits will come from this process Sharon said that she always welcomes inspections as it is an opportunity to reflect on what’s been done, is being done and what could be done better, and that is what is happening now; by looking at the strengths of the service,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4