Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group.

Minute of the Meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group held on 7 November 2017 to be noted.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group of 7 November 2017.  

DECISION

NOTED the Minute for signature by the Chairman.

Consider report by Finance and Commercial Director on SB Cares Management Accounts as at 31 January 2018.  (Copy attached.)

3.1       With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 7 November 2017, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Business Partner Finance providing an update on the financial position as at 28 February 2018.  The Appendix to the report included details of the year to date spend against budget and against the previous year spend for both income and expenditure; the year to date spend by service heading; the balance sheet for the period; and the projected cash flow to 31 March 2018.  The report compared the financial performance against the reforecast surplus and noted that although there continued to be a shortfall in Spot Contract income, the expected outturn of £441k remained unchanged.  A further shortfall was anticipated for March 2018, again with no expected impact on the overall target surplus.  The report included a summary of the overall position in terms of costs relating to staff, transport, property/energy and other non-staff expenditure.  The report acknowledged that an increase in overtime payments at premium rates had been necessary for SB Cares to meet the challenges of maintaining staffing levels over the winter months however, the introduction of additional staff to the workforce had allowed the overall impact to be managed and it was anticipated the full year staff costs would remain within the agreed forecast.  Regular updates would be presented to the Major Contracts Governance Group.

3.2       In response to questions, Members were advised that transport costs were reviewed on a regular basis and options for electric cars were fully assessed to include purchase, lease and rental costs.  During the difficult winter conditions, clients were kept safe at all times and there were no missed visits recorded.  The commitment and professionalism of staff had been exceptional in ensuring the safety of their clients and staff were paid overtime as appropriate.  Other organisations such as Mountain Rescue had also assisted in ensuring that clients received home visits as required.  Discussion followed in respect of transport; provision of a complete fleet management service; road conditions; and service provision.  Officers responded to questions from Members.

DECISION

NOTED the financial position and the management actions in hand.

Consider update report by Service Development Manager SB Cares.  (Copy attached.)

4.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Development Manager providing an update on the progress of projects within the Transformation Programme.  Since the previous update, there had been a number of developments.  Members were advised that the transfer of the Alarms Service (Bordercare) along with other services such as emergency repairs to East Lothian had taken place at the end of March 2018.  Members were advised that alarm service users would not experience any break in provision or change in the way they accessed assistance.  It was not currently anticipated that any staff would enter the redundancy or deployment processes.  Members were advised that there had previously been a large amount of manager time spent on scheduling the Home Care rotas but the new “four days on/four days off” simplified the process and now operated across all Home Care teams.  Possible further refinement of the system would be considered as required.  Testing and development was ongoing in respect of the Payroll report and it was acknowledged that further significant work was required in this regard.  Preparation of a procurement pack for additional cars for Home Care delivery was also currently underway.

4.2       Discussion followed and it was noted that service users had commented favourably on their satisfaction with the new service provision.  In response to a question on recruitment and retention, Ms Crombie advised Members that, in addition to traditional recruitment methods and word of mouth, SB Cares was working closely with Borders College and local schools in an effort to promote SB Cares and services it provided.  Members noted that there had been over 40 applications for Home Care posts across three areas and Ms Crombie further advised that the recruitment process was sometimes slowed down by the time taken for the Protecting Vulnerable Adults (PVG) procedure to be completed.  In terms of Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration, this could take up to ninety days to complete and once registered, there was an expectation that staff would achieve SVQ at Level 2.  This project was still to be implemented across the Home Care Service. 

            DECISION

            NOTED:-

            (a)        the savings and investment; and

            (b)       the next steps and risks described for each project.

Consider update report by SB Cares Operations Director on Inspections by the Care Inspectorate.  (Copy attached.)

            With reference to paragraph 5 of the Minute of 7 November 2017, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Operations Director SB Cares giving the updated position on the inspection of SB Care services by the Care Inspectorate.  Members were advised that since the last report in November 2017, five inspections had taken place.  Grade 5 was awarded to Waverley Care Home for three of the quality themes and Grade 4 was given for Quality of Management and Leadership.  St Ronan’s Care Home was inspected and both quality themes assessed were awarded Grade 5.  Grove House Care Home had been inspected and all four themes were assessed, with Quality of Care and Support and Quality of Staffing both receiving Grade 5 and Quality of Environment and Quality of Management and Leadership each obtaining Grade 4.  Saltgreens Care Home had received an improved rating of Grade 5 for Quality of Care and Support, with other Grades being maintained at the previous levels.  Further details for all of the above Care Inspectorate reports were included in Appendix 1.  With regard to the final report for Home Care West, the three Themes that had been assessed received Grade 3.  This included a reduction in the Grade for Care and Support however, the challenges that the Home Care Service had faced over recent months had been recognised by the Inspectors.  Feedback from the Inspectors had offered some positive and constructive feedback, including comment about improvements made to the recruitment process and the Induction and Training Programmes.  In terms of the focus of the Care Inspectorate reports, on occasion the emphasis appeared to be on the areas requiring improvement rather than on areas where good standards of care were provided and Members noted that this might be due to there being a limit of space available within the report template.  Recently, this had led to some negative press coverage locally.  A draft report had been received for the East Home Care Service however, Members were informed that SB Cares considered that the report did not reflect the positive feedback received from the Inspectors and the report was therefore being challenged.  An updated report would be presented to the Committee in due course.  Discussion followed and the improvements in a number of service areas were acknowledged.  Members recognised the improvements that had been made and that it was noted that this information might be used to provide some positive comment in the public domain. 

            DECISION

            NOTED:-

(i)         the improved grades contained in the report for Waverley Care Home;

(ii)        the improved grades contained in the report for St Ronan’s Care Home;

(iii)       the improved grades contained in the report for Grove Care Home;

(iv)       the improved grades contained in the report for Saltgreens Care Home;

(v)        the report  for the Home Care West service; and

(vi)       that the Home Care East service had been recently inspected.

Verbal update by SB Cares Operations Director on New Services currently being developed.

            With reference to paragraph 7 of the Minute of 7 November 2017, the Operations Director provided a verbal update on the services currently being developed by SB Cares.  The Coldstream Community Model (previously referred to as Buurtzorg) had made progress and Members were advised that the trial would be developed further and an update reported to the Committee in due course.  Discussion followed in respect of the re-homing of patients and Members were advised that the Craw Wood facility had proved very successful, with staff using the time clients spent in the Unit to carry out comprehensive assessments prior to discharge.  Members were also advised of an insurance-led approach in the Netherlands whereby GPs could refer patients for a follow-on service and the actual care offered was then decided by the insurance company.  Further information about the proposed Enablement Service would be presented to Members in due course.

            DECISION

NOTED the update.

7.1       The next meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group would take place at 2.00pm on Tuesday 5 June 2018.

7.2       The schedule of meetings from August 2018 to June 2019 was presented as follows:-

            18 September 2018

            6 November 2018

            5 March 2019

            4 June 2019

            DECISION

            NOTED the dates for future meetings.

The meeting was adjourned at 11.00am and reconvened at 11.10am.

Before proceeding with the private business, the following motion should be approved:-

“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the aforementioned Act.”

DECISION

            AGREED under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the business contained in the following items on the ground that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 6 and 8 of the part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Act.

Consider verbal update on the delivery of SB Cares Business Plan for 2017-2022 by Managing Director, SB Cares.

            Members considered the SB Cares Business Plan for the period 2017/22.

Private section of the Minute of the Meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group held on 7 November 2017 to be noted.  (Copy attached.) 

Members considered the Private Section of the Minute of the Major Contracts Governance Group of 7 November 2017.

Consider report by Chief Officer Roads.  (Copy attached.)

            Members considered the update report.