Councillor Temperton to Councillor Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing
The result of the Inspection by CQC of Heathlands Care Centre in August was ‘Inadequate’.
Can the Council be given an update on the situation there now?
Councillor Bidwell to Councillor Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing
Following the very concerning reports of Home Care visits being unofficially cut to five or six minutes instead of the allocated time, residents are anxious for assurance that this could not happen in Bracknell Forest.
Can you tell us how the period of time that the Carer actually spends with the resident and quality of provision allocated in the care packages financed by Bracknell Forest are monitored?
Minutes:
Councillor Temperton asked Councillor Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing, the following published question:
“The result of the Inspection by CQC of Heathlands Care Centre in August was ‘Inadequate’.
Can the Council be given an update on the situation there now?”
In response, Councillor Birch said the following:
“It is disappointing that the CQC found that a number of areas remain below the expected standards and require further improvement.
The council and NHS professionals continue to work closely with partner agencies to support the provider to make required improvements.
Windsar Care has acknowledged the report and has taken steps to address key issues.
A new permanent registered manager started shortly before the inspection and has now been in post for three months.
Windsar Care have engaged a specialist, independent organisation to oversee the immediate improvements required and to provide assurance and gather the evidence of the progress they are making in implementing the required improvements.
Windsar Care has been taking a range of actions to implement the improvements needed, as identified in the CQC report and professionals have been working hard to support them with this.
Our priority remains our residents, particularly the most vulnerable and we are pleased that Windsar Care is engaging well with the council and Health partners to work through the issues to ensure people receive safe, effective and well-led care.
The CQC will undertake a further inspection of the service in the coming months to gain assurance that the required improvements have been embedded in the service.
The council is currently considering options regarding the future of dementia care at Heathlands and how this valuable and much needed service will be delivered in the future.”
In response to a supplementary question the Executive Member advised that the next CQC visit was to be considered a follow up inspection. At that point they were to continue to make the necessary recommendations and deal with the provider regarding any actions that may need to be taken.
Councillor Bidwell asked Councillor Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing, the following published question:
Following the very concerning reports of Home Care visits being unofficially cut to five or six minutes instead of the allocated time, residents are anxious for assurance that this could not happen in Bracknell Forest.
Can you tell us how the period of time that the Carer actually spends with the resident and quality of provision allocated in the care packages financed by Bracknell Forest are monitored?
In response, Councillor Birch said the following:
“In April 2022 the Council mobilised a new Homecare Framework (FW) and established new contractual arrangements in the Homecare market. To be able to join the new FW, all providers are required, as a minimum to be rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC. This ensures at baseline level of quality assurance.
Through the FW, the Council has taken robust measures to ensure such practice does not occur within BF and has processes in place to ensure, were this to occur, it would be identified very quickly and rectified.
Under the FW, the minimum time allocation for any care call is 30 minutes and providers must submit invoices accompanied by worker timesheets to be paid. Timesheets are generated by the providers electronic call monitoring systems – a further stipulation of the FW. This requires care workers to ‘check in’ at the beginning of each call and ‘check out’ at the end of the call in the client’s home. Discrepancies of any under / over delivery or any changes between the commissioned and actual hours delivered are would be identified and investigated with the provider.
Care Teams also undertake regular reviews of individuals needs and commissioned support, to ensure the needs of individuals are being met by their current care package. Following reviews any required changes will be incorporated into the commissioned package of care accordingly.
Providers are also subject to robust, regular Contract Monitoring as stipulated by our Contract Monitoring framework for additional assurances on quality. This is to ensure that, providers are delivering care to the standard and quality set out in the contract service specification and to ensure clients are experiencing good outcomes.
If the standard or quality of service delivery falls below required levels, the contract provides a number of mechanisms to address this with the provider e.g. the implementation of an improvement plan. More stringent measures can also be undertaken, for example if serious quality concerns were identified, a provider could be embargoed from receiving any new packages whilst they rectify the issues. Ultimately if there were serious concerns about the quality of a contracted provider, their contract could be terminated.
A small proportion of services are delivered by providers who are not part of our FW, but whom we have worked with for a considerable period and are subject to Contract Monitoring.
We maintain a very positive working relationship with our homecare providers and engage with providers on a one-to-one basis as well as through wider market engagement on a very regular basis. This allows us to work through any identified issues or concerns very constructively to ensure these are rectified swiftly”.
In response to a supplementary question, the Executive Member spoke about the services provided by Forest Care. Forest Care provided devices that monitored blood pressure, breathing, and movement around the house, among other things. They were also able to communicate with delivery personnel and buzz in appropriate carers. The Executive Member emphasised the importance of using technology to care for vulnerable residents while still ensuring that they had human contact and were not isolated. Overall, the Councillor advocated for the responsible and compassionate use of technology in caring for vulnerable individuals.