Agenda item
Winterbourne Review Report - Time for Change (2014)
Recommendations:
- Note the contents of the report and agree that a ‘Post-Winterbourne Actions Project Team’ is set up to formulate an action plan for way forward. This means all commissioners across all areas (including housing) work with Public Health to identify the gaps, and put in place a clear plan for delivery of commissioning priorities, which is time specific, and informed by the people who use the service;
- Note the second annual update of local actions since the Winterbourne Review, and note proposals of future actions specified, especially those marked out in paragraph 6.2 (e);
- Agree that the actions from recommendation one are delegated to the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board to set up a commissioning specific work-stream which will put into place a plan of action based on the eleven recommendations. To report back to the Health & Wellbeing Board at a future date.
Lead for Item: Bozena Allen (Interim Head of Adult Services, Education Social Care and Wellbeing)
Minutes:
Bozena Allen, Interim Head of ASC and Sandra Howard, Interim Service Manager, presented the report, which outlined the latest recommendations from the post-Winterbourne Review Report, an assessment of local implications, the next steps to develop an action plan for implementation; and a second annual update of progress of local actions agreed by the Board in 2013 following the first Government report in 2012. They outlined a phased approach and with some priorities on the proposed action plan.
The ‘Winterbourne View - Time for Change’ was published in late 2014 and made recommendations for a national commissioning framework, under which local commissioners should identify gaps in provision for people with challenging behaviour and Learning Disabilities.
It recommended a community-based alternative to inpatient care, through the creation of a mandatory commissioning framework requiring local authorities and NHS clinical commissioning groups to pool health, social care and housing budgets.
The report provided a summary of the eleven post-Winterbourne recommendations (set out in the report by a steering group of the NHS England set up to make recommendations for a national commissioning framework in which local commissioners would secure community based support for people with learning disabilities. It was noted that the Government was likely to publish their response in early 2015.
The Board noted that the implications for Tower Hamlets and its Partners
was that the Health and Wellbeing Board could play a significant role in leading a local response to the Winterbourne Review of 2012 and 2014 by making in helping reshape local services to improve health outcomes for children and adults with learning disabilities and/or autism who have mental health conditions or behaviour that challenges.
The Board also noted that the proposed local response to these recommendations was to:
a) set up a local ‘Post-Winterbourne Actions Project Team’ with joint working between LBTH CCG, Tower Hamlets Council, and local partners;
b) to develop a local action plan and monitor its implementation.
The project team would be set up to agree a time specific plan for delivery of the other recommendations. This would be overseen by the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board and the Health and Well-being Board.
Members welcomed the proposed action plan which they regarded as a testament to the good work that had been done in Tower Hamlets.
The proposed action plan was noted as follows: To develop a Charter of Rights for people with Learning Disabilities;
1. Although good work was in progress with the local police to ensure that people with learning disabilities were better treated by the criminal justice system, there was an opportunity for the project team to discuss developing a local agreement;
2. Recommendation three was partially met where learning difficulties service users had the ‘right to challenge’ decisions through a complaint system;
3. There was work in progress where Bart’s Health and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) were leading on considering the extension of a personal health budget, although further consideration was required from the proposed project team;
4. The proposed project team to work with the Housing Benefit service to protect a person’s home tenancy when on hospital admission;
5. The proposed project team to consider developing a ‘mandatory commissioning’ plan for Learning Disabilities Service;
6. The proposed project team to consider the implications of community –based providers ‘right to propose alternatives’ to inpatient care;
7. The project team to consider whether the commissioning framework should be accompanied by a closure programme of institutions (if that is applicable to this borough);
8. Proposed project team to consider workforce data from the NMDS-SC to help assess local workforce skills in this area;
9. The project team to consider fostering partnership working to establish a ‘Life in the Community’ Social Investment Fund;
10.The proposed project team to review what local data was collected and that was relevant for publication.
RESOLVED -
- That the contents of the report be noted and that the proposal to set up a ‘Post-Winterbourne Actions Project Team’ to formulate an action plan for way forward be agreed. That all commissioners across all areas (including housing) work with Public Health to identify the gaps, and put in place a clear plan for delivery of commissioning priorities, which was time specific, and informed by service users;
- That the second annual update of local actions since the Winterbourne Review, including proposals of future actions specified in the report, especially those marked out in paragraph 6.2 (e) be noted;
- That the actions from Resolution (1) above be delegated to the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board to set up a commissioning specific work-stream which would put into place a plan of action based on the eleven recommendations.
- To report back to the Health & Wellbeing Board at a future date.
Action By: Bozena Allen (Interim Head of Adult Services, Education
Social Care and Wellbeing)
Elizabeth Dowuona (Committee Officer LBTH)
Supporting documents: