An apology for absence was received from Pat Harris (Non-voting Co-opted Member)

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board held on 19 February 2025.

The minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Board held on 19 February 2025 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairwoman.

To receive an update on the Quality Assurance Annual report on care homes and nursing homes in Torbay.

The Divisional Director of Adult Social Care, gave a presentation, as circulated prior to the meeting, which provided an update on the Quality Assurance Annual Report on care homes and nursing homes. 

Members were advised that Torbay Council has a duty to work with the individual care and nursing homes who require improvement to create an action plan and ensure support was provided as required. 

Members raised the following questions: 

·         how the Council worked with care and nursing homes who required improvement;

·         how many residents were discharged too quickly;

·         what opportunities were there for training and career progression for staff working in care and nursing homes to progress to work for NHS;

·         whether the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings were publicly available on the Council website; 

·         what impact the increase in National Insurance contributions had had on care and nursing homes;

·         whose responsibility was it to ensure residents were safeguarded when services such as hairdressers/chiropodists visited care and nursing homes;

·         have discussions been held with the various care and nursing homes to ensure that they were provided with bins to allow for recycling;

·         could any subsidies be provided by the Council to care and nursing homes to help young people who wish to join the care sector but were unable to drive, to assist them to learn to drive or travel to clients;

·         details of any themes that had appeared relating to hospital discharge and readmissions rates;

·         if any agencies were used to provide workforce to the various care and nursing homes;

·         details of the inspection ratings process for care and nursing and the frequency of inspections; and

·         details of how the Council monitors the number of residents from neighbouring authorities that use the various care and nursing homes in Torbay.

In response to the questions raised by Members, the Divisional Director of Adult Social Care responded as follows:

·         The Council has a duty to work with individual care and nursing homes who require improvement to create an action plan and ensure support was provided as required. 

·         The Adult Social Care Team within Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (Trust) had undertaken intensive work to ensure that the process for pathways for patients to return home were of a good standard.  The Council was committed to ensuring that patients return home where possible and with the correct support instead of a short-term placement in a care or nursing home.

·         There was not a training and career pathway for employees to work in care to progress working for the NHS.  The CQC were responsible for ensuring that the care and nursing home providers make sure that their employees were sufficiently trained to enable adequate standards of care within the care and nursing home.  There were training offers available that were unique to Torbay and providers could contact the Trust to take advantage of training available to ensure that the workforce across Torbay were trained with similar levels of competency. 

·         The CQC ratings for all care and nursing homes were available  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To approve the work programme for the Board for the 2025/26 municipal year.

The Chairwoman presented the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board Work Programme for the municipal year 2025/26 and Members noted that it had been devised with input from Overview and Scrutiny and Cabinet Members and Senior Officers.  It was further noted that the Work Programme was designed to help shape how the meetings of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board would operate, and the Work Programme would be flexible to accommodate additional topics that may require scrutinising throughout the year. 

Resolved (unanimously):

1.    that the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board Work Programme set out in the submitted report be approved; and

2.    that the Senior Democratic, Overview and Scrutiny Officer, in consultation with the Chairwoman and Vice-Chairwoman of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board, be authorised to keep the Work Programme under regular review.

To receive an update on the implementation of the actions of the Sub-Board and consider any further actions required (as set out in the submitted action tracker).

The Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board noted the submitted action tracker.