York Council cuts meals for elderly

Lunch off menu at Gale Farm Court, Barstow House etc

Elderly

The Council is stopping  serving of lunch for residents in its sheltered accommodation units.

Potentially all sheltered units are affected and letters have gone out today to affected tenants.

Although the Council claims to have consulted about the planned withdrawal of the service, in reality most residents thought they were being told about changes to how the meals would be provided.

The termination of the service therefore comes as a shock.

It is partly a legacy of the social care budget scandal that became public earlier in the year.

The Cabinet member with responsibility for the service lost her job at that time but now it seems that vulnerable elderly people are the ones who will suffer.

The social side of the mid day meal is particularly valued by many residents of sheltered accommodation who otherwise can become isolated in their own flats.Behind closed doors logo

The decision appears to have been taken behind closed door. There was no public discussion about the options available to the Council and affected residents.

Earlier in the year concerns were raised about hygiene standards at some care homes in York

Sheltered units with extra care  in York include (click for details)

  1. Barstow House
  2. Gale Farm Court
  3. Glen Lodge
  4. Marjorie Waite Court

Audit report said York care home plan was “flawed”

An independent audit report said that Labour run York Council’s plans for multi-million pound super care homes were “flawed” and promised savings had been “double counted”. Audit Report

Labour’s Elderly Persons’ Homes (EPH) programme promises to replace existing care facilities in York and build new homes on the former Lowfield and Burnholme school sites.

However, the project has been beset with problems and is currently running years behind schedule.

Now the publication of a report by external auditors Mazars, from July last year, has for the first time revealed their criticism of the project.

The report was revealed last night to the council’s cross-party Audit and Governance Committee.

Mazars critical audit report July 2103

Mazars latest report

 600,000 of planned savings from EPHs were not delivered because of issues around building new units and assumptions were flawed.

The original estimated savings were too ambitious and members made changes to the project.

There was no effective challenge of the external expert’s assumptions.

In addition savings were double counted”.

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£3.9 million Social Care budget problem forces major rethink in York

“the service was not responding quickly enough or effectively enough to the challenges it faced” – Auditors

The Council has now published an outline of how it intends to recover from the Social Care budget deficit discovered by Auditors.

The Auditors identified a budget pressure of £2.5 on this year’s budget together with outstanding actions needed to secure budgeted savings of £1.4 million.

Social care

In a separate report the Auditors they say

“Our view is that financial management and commissioning in the adult social care service needs to improve and this service has not responded quickly and effectively enough to the challenges that it faces.

 If the underlying financial pressures are not robustly addressed and actions to secure significant future base budget reductions are not effective, there is a risk that the Council will not be in a position to deliver the best possible value for money in adult social care services.

Of critical importance to the delivery of sustained improvement is a review of existing contracts and a new commissioning approach that secures the required services at an affordable price”.

The crisis had led to the demotion of the Cabinet member, who had responsibility for the department, earlier in the year with several senior staff following her out of the door last month.

A summary of the action that the Council intends to take can be read here

10 substantial issues, raised by the Auditors, are addressed. They include:

  • Producing a clear and unambiguous budget for the current year which eliminates overspends
  • Improved accountability for senior officials
  • More delegation of responsibility
  • Improvements in the budget build process for next and subsequent years
  • A clear savings plan
  • Improved management information systems and IT
Council Leader with Cllr Simpson Laing (right) a few weeks before she was sacked from her Social care post

Council Leader with Cllr Simpson Laing (right) a few weeks before she was sacked from her Social care post

Challenged on the problems at the last Council meeting, the Leader declined to say why he had not taken action last year to address the emerging issues.

Council officials had earlier declined to say why one of the savings projects – the opening of a new “super care village” at Lowfields – was running 3 years behind schedule.

Call for answers over Lowfield Care Village

Lowfields school entrance Oct 2010
Liberal Democrats are demanding answers over plans for a new care village at Lowfields in Acomb amid concerns about delays and a lack of communication with local residents.

In 2012 Labour’s £13million Elderly Persons’ Homes (EPH) Modernisation Programme promised to replace existing care facilities in York with 200 specialist residential beds at Fordlands, Lowfield Care Village and Haxby Hall.

Since then the programme has been hit with budget and timetable problems as the Haxby proposals were dropped and the Fordlands plans moved to the Burnholme School site.

The Labour Cabinet Member responsible, Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, lost responsibility for the project in a reshuffle earlier this year.

Lowfield Care Village, in Acomb on the former Lowfield School site, was due to open in April 2014.

It is scheduled to provide a 90-bed care home alongside independent living bungalows. However, local residents say they have heard little from the council about the delays and no updated timetable has been given. There are also concerns that the council will try to develop the former school playing field – the original intention had been to restrict building to the school ”footprint”.

Cllr Lynn Jeffries, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Adult Social Care and Councillor for Westfield who will question Labour about the delays at this week’s Full Council, commented:
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York Social Services – auditors critical comments published

Following yesterdays revelations, that senior officials have left York Social Services Department, an Auditors report has provided further information on the background to the developing crisis.

Auditors Mazars, in a report to the Councils Audit and Governance committee next week, include the following paragraph

Risks in relation to Adult Social Care services
Description of the risksAdult social care is identified as one of the highest priorities within the Council’s service transformation programme. During the audit, we have become concerned at the lack of progress in making improvements to budget management and other aspects of adult social care services.

The development of the Better Care Fund provides a major challenge but also a significant opportunity for the Council and CCG to work together to increase investment in much needed intermediate and preventative care.

We are concerned that the lack of progress in delivering service improvement, together with the challenges of the Better Care Fund and the new Care Act, mean that the Council is at risk of failing to deliver good value for money in adult social care services and the best outcomes for local people.

They go on to say “We are working closely with officers to understand the barriers to progress and how they can best be addressed. The Chief Executive has recognised that insufficient progress has been made and has instituted an accelerated recovery and improvement process, working closely with the Director of Health and Wellbeing. We continue to review the Council’s arrangements to secure VFM in its use of resources. This has included reviewing the Council’s key plans and the delivery of those plans, and its financial arrangements, as well as considering the data in VFM profiles”.

scandal-23879094 Social care costs account  for the major part of Council budget expenditure.

If good value for money is not being achieved – and it appears that it isn’t with an overspend last year and a similar situation developing this year – then the whole Council budget is in jeopardy.

That could have a knock on effect on the quality of a wide range of public services provided in the City and on the level of Council Tax which will be levied in future years.

No doubt the Audit Committee will be requiring the attendance of the Cabinet members (Simpson Laing & Cunningham Cross), who have presided over this crisis, to attend their meeting and account for their actions.

Council tax leaflet

In its Tax demand – sent ot all households in the City in March – the Council said

The city’s demand for adult social care services is increasing at such a rate that by 2019/20 adult care costs are expected to account for 50 per cent of the council’s net budget. The council is investing a further £2.5m for adult care services in 2014/15, to ensure York’s most vulnerable residents are taken care of.

In 2014/15 the council will pay for approximately half the adult care cost increases through an increase in Council Tax, of 1.9 per cent, an average of 37 pence  per household, per week”.

 A full and frank explanation is now required from the Council Leadership

NB. The Council is being criticised in todays media for paying an interim Director £700 a day.

The Council has yet to reveal the costs of the two temporary appointments that it has made to cover the staff who have left the Social Services Department (or the costs of any severance package agreed for those leaving)

Questions being raised about Social Care management in York

scandal-23879094

Following the sacking of the responsible Cabinet member (Cllr Simpson Laing) a few weeks ago we understand other changes are afoot in the York Councils Health and Social Care Department.

The Department has been struggling to manage its budget during the last 3 years and now we understand that two senior managers are leaving the Authority.

No doubt the Councils auditors will be taking an interest in the behind the scenes activities but it is a shame that the Councils “scrutiny” process has proved to be so ineffective.

It is there that problems of this sort should be nipped in the bud.

Hopefully the more vulnerable of York’s residents will not be the real victims of this emerging scandal.

Health and social care changes

cartoon_JamesGillray public healthProposals to transform health and social care in York have been given the go-ahead by the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board.

York’s Plan proposes a transformation of the local health and social care system, focusing on three main elements:

– The development of local care hubs of health and social care staff who will rapidly assess and diagnose issues and needs to enable people to remain at home or return there at the earliest opportunity.

– Shared Care Records, so people only have to provide their details and case history once.

– Single Point of Contact– a health or social care-lead who takes responsibility for the individual as the move between services.

 

Connecting Care in York

‘Connecting Care’, the City of York Local Account for Adult Social Care for 2013 is now online.

The report sets out the current local picture of adult social care services with health and financial data and how services are performing, along with the strategic aims for improving and integrating health and social care services in the future.

To view Connecting Care visit www.york.gov.uk/localaccount

Elderly in York deserve better

Windsor House

Windsor House

The Councils Labour leadership are apparently visiting the Windsor House Elderly Persons Home (EPH) this week. The Home is trialling some new techniques aimed at helping people with dementia.

The Councillors will no doubt also be seeking to persuade staff that the ill fated social care modernisation programme has overcome the chronic delays that have dogged it since Labour took office in 2011.

The consolidated EPH programme  was conceived by the LibDems in 2010.

In July 2011 Labour  embarked on another, ultimately fruitless, consultation. This was to appease UNISON who had funded their election campaign.
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York social care website attracts small number of visitors

The  “new” social care website – Connect to Support – has had over 700 visitors.

click to access

click to access

The site enables older people, those with disabilities, or those who simply need some support to remain independent, to shop for support services and products, find local activities and groups and look up information and advice – since it “officially” launched in November.

The site had caused some concern when it went  live last Spring without any explanation

The site brings together several resources that will give adults in the city a new and innovative way of finding out what options are available to meet their needs.

For more information on how Connect to Support visit www.connecttosupport.org/york