Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Social Care and Health

Further to Minute No. 10 of 27 June 2017, the Committee considered the report of the Director of Social Care and Health presenting proposals on a new service approach with regard to the Community Equipment Store.

The review of the Community Equipment Store had now concluded. During the review consultation and engagement with citizens had taken place. Taking into account the findings of the review and the feedback from citizens, the proposed new service model was now described within the report.

The report set out the background to the matter, together with details of the Section 75 Partnership Agreement; what the review examined; the consultation exercise undertaken with citizens; what a “good model” might look like; together with conclusions.

The review had examined:-

·         The national policy context;

·         The local policy context;

·         The legal framework for equipment provision;

·         Demand for community equipment;

·         Number of deliveries;

·         Collections by number of items;

·         The budget arrangements for the provision of equipment;

·         What equipment was provided; and

·         Equipment and recycling.

Some of the areas that had been explored were:-

·         The increase in our older population and the increased demand for equipment;

·         Same day requests for equipment; and

·         Constantly looking at how the service could perform better.

A “good model” would need to address access to advice and information at an early stage and this would require a greater presence on the Council website. More could be undertaken during visits, to ensure that the service assisted in “making every contact count”. The key developments would be to offer the option to collect at store and to “gift” certain items on issue, as opposed to loan in circumstances where equipment was not suitable for re-issue on return or it was not cost effective to collect.

Sharon Lomax, Integrated Health and Social Care Manager, Social Care and Wellbeing, was in attendance to present the report and respond to questions put by Members.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:-

·         A resident had reported his numerous attempts to contact the Store by telephone as he had been unable to obtain a response.

At present the Store had 2 incoming telephone lines and an email in-box. The Council would wish to have a better response to calls and encourage greater use of the email in-box. This required a shift in the internal resources and greater awareness of the possibility to email. This work was part of the operational improvement plan currently being progressed.

·         Consideration should be given to targets for collection.

End of life beds tended to be prioritised for collection and it was expected that targets for collections would be set, alongside the work to stop collecting all items.

·         Reference was made to the fact that small aids had been removed from stock some time previously.

The Council needed to consider sign-posting users and offer advice on where they could purchase smaller items and which items should be returned.

·         Consideration should be given to marking/labelling more expensive items as some items got lost or were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17