36 Quality Assurance of Commissioned Services PDF 39 KB
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The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Communities which informed Members of the role of the Quality Assurance of Commissioned Services.
The Board was advised that in accordance with
its statutory duties Members of the Council carried out Inspections on
registered Council establishments.
The Board was further advised that at the present time these visits were
conducted by Cllr Mike Hodgkinson and Cllr Pamela Wallace. However, Councillors
Ellen Cargill, Stan Parker and Geoff Zygadllo were currently completing an
induction to carry out Inspections on Council establishments. In addition, it was
reported that Members would be required to undertake a CRB check and training before
carrying out inspections.
It was reported that visits to the Council establishment Oak Meadow,
Furthermore, it was highlighted that the Residential Care Homes and
Domiciliary Care Agencies were registered with CQC, the statutory body charged
with regulation of registered residential and nursing care services. However,
it was the responsibility of the Communities Directorate to commission local
services and a significant part of that role was the quality assurance of
services delivered within the Authority.
The report set out the role of Halton’s Quality Assurance Team and highlighted that in Halton there are currently 201
commissioned services across Adult Social Care, including 29 registered
Residential Care Homes, 12 Registered Domiciliary Care Providers and 58
registered Supported Living services, 7 registered Adult Placements, 2
registered Respite Services and 1 Community Enablement Service.
It was also reported that the Quality
Assurance Team used a
wide range of quantitative information and qualitative feedback to assess the
quality of local services. During the period April 2010 to March 2011, the
Quality Assurance Team (4 officers) had carried out 161 inspection visits. Appendix 1 to the report, illustrated the
assessment of the overall quality rating for services in Quarter 2, 2010/11
(July - September). The majority of
commissioned services were providing good or excellent quality care (Green) to
Halton residents.
The Chairman of the Board welcomed the report
and reported that Councillor Wright had a list of volunteers who would undergo
a CRB check and then receive appropriate training.
The Board noted that if there were any concerns
about an establishment, immediate action was taken and this could result in a
suspension of new placements until improvements were made. This could result in
the establishment being on an amber rating longer than the CQC, as the Quality Assurance
Team retained the amber rating until they were satisfied that the improvements could
be sustained.
The Members of the Board were reassured by
the robust procedures and excellent work undertaken by the Quality Assurance Team
in ensuring establishments and services provided were safe for residents of the
Borough.
It was suggested that when contracts were established they contained ... view the full minutes text for item 36