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ELECT CHAIRMAN To elect a Chairman for this Committee for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved: To
re-elect Councillor Peter Read as Chair of this Committee for the year 2015/16. |
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ELECT VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a Vice-Chairman for this Committee for 2015/16. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved: To re-elect Councillor Beth Lawton as
Vice-chair of this Committee for
the year 2015/16. |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Alan Jones Evans, Dewi Owen,
Mrs Rita Price (The Catholic Church), Mr Neil Foden
(Teachers’ Union). |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Linda Ann Wyn Jones declared a personal interest in Item 8 – Changes in the Learning Disability Services, however, she would not withdraw from the Chamber unless there was a specific discussion regarding learning disabilities during this item. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a
matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Additional documents: |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on the 16 April 2015, be signed as a true copy. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee that took place on 16 April 2015. |
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CHANGES IN THE LEARNING DISABILITY SERVICES PDF 56 KB To consider a report by the Care Cabinet Member on the above. Additional documents: Minutes: a)
A report was presented by the Cabinet Member for
Adults and Health in response to a series of questions asked by the Scrutiny
Committee stemming from the changes in the Learning Disabilities Service. b) The
Cabinet Member reported that it was necessary to transform the above service in
order to ensure that innovative support is offered in Gwynedd. In
addition, it was necessary to introduce changes which will find savings, but
more importantly, improve the outcome for the individual. Communication and
promoting the changes and ensuring support and understanding of individuals and
their families, staff and providers both internally and externally were key and
led to effective cooperation to reach the aim and ensure better services for
the needs of individuals. c)
During the ensuing discussion the following
points were noted by individual Members:
i.
That they should press for confirmation from the
Welsh Government regarding finance to extend the provision for autistic
persons.
ii.
The importance of informing parents /
individuals / service users when it was necessary to re-organise meetings.
iii.
Whilst supporting the vision to promote
individuals to be independent there was concern regarding the impact at
grassroots level and specifically supporting individuals with learning
disabilities who go into the world of work and as a result lose benefits.
iv.
It was asked what would Gwynedd Council do as a postholder (Autism Key Worker) had resigned, to ensure that
persons with learning disabilities received a worthy service.
v.
The report was welcomed, however, it was noted
that there were lessons to be learnt and reference was made to activities
previously offered to persons with learning disabilities specifically at Ysgol Botwnnog and the tree nursery at Glynllifon
that gave individuals a feeling of self-worth and were also beneficial.
vi.
Cuts to the learning disabilities service would
have a detrimental impact on individuals.
vii.
Every Member should be encouraged to receive
training on autism and how to deal with individuals.
viii.
There was no reference to parents / families in
the report and it was felt that they were being disregarded.
ix.
A request for representatives with learning
disabilities / mental health / autism to meet the Scrutiny Committee in order
to hear their views and to come to understand and raise the Committee’s
awareness of their needs.
x.
Concern as a result of the changes between
Gwynedd / Anglesey that individuals might lose out on services. (d) The
Cabinet Member for Adults and Health and the officers responded to the
observations made by individual Members as follows: a) It
was explained that the ‘Key Ring’ model was national and gave arm’s length
volunteer support to persons with learning disabilities and they were available
if any emergency arose. The scheme was not in operation in
Gwynedd, however, it was further noted that it was necessary to be more
innovative in the schemes available but it had to be borne in mind that each
one was not suitable for Gwynedd due to the County’s geographical nature. b) It was ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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SCRUTINY INVESTIGATION FROM HOSPITAL TO THE HOME - PART 2 PDF 1 MB To consider a report by the Chairman of the Scrutiny Investigation, Councillor Peter Read, on the above. Additional documents: Minutes: a) The Vice-chair chaired the above item in order
that the Chair, Cllr Peter Read, could present the above report and Meinir Williams and Ffion Johnstone from the Betsi Cadwaladr University
Health Board were welcomed to the meeting to respond to the queries / observations of the Scrutiny Committee. b) The final draft report was presented by Cllr.
Peter Read, Chair of the Scrutiny
Investigation ‘From Hospital to the Home’, that focused on
the arrangements for discharging and transferring patients home from
hospital The Chair thanked Health
Board staff for their excellent cooperation together with the officers of various Council Departments who added value to the Investigation’s results and recommendations. c) The Members’
Support and Scrutiny Manager
stated that the draft report before
them contained the fruits of the Scrutiny Investigation’s labour that was commissioned by this Scrutiny
Committee and attention was
drawn to the following points: ·
The nature of the report was different to the usual, mainly due to two
reports regarding defective provision and scrutiny work that
became evident in England. Guidance was received to trial different ways of conducting scrutiny investigations to try
and maximise the voice of
the people within the
Service and from the report
it could be seen that there
was more analysis and interpretation
of data leading to the main recommendations
to be submitted to the Cabinet Member
for Adults and Health and the Health Board. ·
An apology was given for leaving out
a reference in the report to a visit made by two
members of the Investigation
to the Ageing Well Centre at Cricieth. (d) Any observations from the Scrutiny Committee on the main findings outlined in the report would be welcomed and the following points were noted: 1. Whilst accepting that Gwynedd performed well on the whole in
terms of national comparison on the measure of transferring patients in a timely
manner from hospital to the community, it was noted that
problems were manifested during the weekends. In response, a representative from the Health Board explained
that the weekends proved difficult in the transfer of patients during the summer due to the lack of Social Workers at the hospital over the weekend but this had worked
well over the winter. It was further noted that
work was on-going on the above, however,
the Health Board had more challenges regarding homes unable to receive patients back over the weekend
due to staffing levels as well as the transfer of patients to community hospitals. 2. A
representative of the Health
Board recognised that drafting a care plan was her priority
this year. 1.
The need to collaborate with the Third Sector especially in the areas of Dwyfor and Meirionnydd. 2.
It was agreed that there was room for improvement in terms of discharging patients on the weekends. 3. That there was a need to reconcile the arrangements and have a plan to discharge ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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UPDATE - ADDITIONAL LEARNING NEEDS AND INCLUSION STRATEGIC REVIEW PDF 173 KB To receive a progress report on the above. Additional documents: Minutes: (a) A
brief update was presented by the Cabinet Member for Education stemming from
the review of the provision of additional learning needs and inclusion. (b) The
Cabinet Member for Education explained that there had been good progress made with
support to the review. Despite this he was of the view that
more work needed to be achieved in terms of clarification to the workforce
regarding the model. It was proposed to submit a report to
the Cabinet in June but it was felt that the timetable was premature and now it
was proposed to submit the report to the Cabinet in September 2015. In the meantime, it was noted that a special
meeting had been arranged on 11 June 2015 with an invitation extended to the Additional
Learning Needs Task Group (established by the Services Scrutiny Committee)
together with Gwynedd members of the Special Educational Needs Joint Committee
and some Cabinet Members. It was further noted that a date had
been specified on 15 June 2015 for the Additional Learning Needs Task Group to
consider any further observations they wished to discuss stemming from the
meeting on 11 June. (c) The
Senior Manager Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion added that the strategy
review was timely and attention should be given to the following three
elements: ·
Upskilling teachers to provide for the needs of
the pupils in order to make a difference ·
Collaboration with parents to enable them to
assist in some way ·
Support children in the classroom (d) In
response to a query by a Member regarding the number who attended the
information fairs, that attendance was disappointing and it was noted that
there were a combination of reasons for this. (e) In terms of the membership of the Additional Learning Needs
Task Group, it was approved for Councillor Gweno Glyn to continue to be a
member following her recent departure from the Services Scrutiny Committee. Resolved: (a) To accept and note the
contents of the report. (b) To
approve that Councillor Gweno Glyn continues to be a member of the Additional
Learning Needs Task Group. |
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THE FUTURE VISION AND DIRECTION OF THE ADULT SERVICE To consider a report by the Care Cabinet Member on the above. Additional documents: Minutes: A report was presented by the
Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, outlining the future vision and direction
of the Adult Service focusing specifically on the field of care for older
people. The Cabinet Member for Adults
and Health outlined the background and stated that a huge change was in the
pipeline not only in Gwynedd, but for the whole of Wales. He
noted that a change of direction was vitally important and the key driver for
change was the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, together with
the views of older people about the type of services and provision they wish to
see in their old age. It was necessary
to conduct comprehensive work with users and at the same time the financial
cuts could not be ignored and if they sought to safeguard the current situation
this meant financial savings in other fields.
During the ensuing
discussion, the following points were highlighted by individual Members: a)
Dual registration had been discussed several
times in the past and concern was expressed regarding the current system with
patients being discharged from hospital to residential care homes for
intermediate care and staff without appropriate qualifications to safeguard
patients’ needs. It was further felt that this was a
means for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
to get patients out of hospital sooner. b)
Disgruntledness that
persons who had worked and contributed financially throughout their lives had
to pay for care whilst others received it free of charge. c)
That older people were eager to be independent
for as long as possible before their health deteriorated. d) The
above comment was supported and it was added that the infrastructure was not
correct and individuals accessed the service when they were in crisis. e) It was
suggested that it would be beneficial for the Members of this Committee to
receive a copy of the Social Services and Well-being Act together with training
on the implications of the Act. f) The
contents of the report disregarded the needs of older people and certain
sections were frivolous. g) Whilst recognising that the principles and the
vision were excellent, concern was shared on how this would be implemented at
grassroots and how accountability would
be ensured. h) Whilst agreeing that persons were eager to
live independently it had to be recognised that the service had a
responsibility if they were suffering and in the end this would be more costly. i) Concern
that young doctors were not keen to work as GPs especially in rural areas. j) It was stated that the need for care provision was increasing for incomers who move into the countryside and need a care provision as they have no family support living nearby. k) The telecare service was vital to many older people. l) That the respite care provision in Arfon was insufficient and there was a genuine need for such a provision for carers. m) The importance of collaboration with the third sector and reference was made to schemes ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |