To submit the report of the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee outlining the feedback from the meeting of the Working Group on 23 October 2017.
Minutes:
Submitted – the
report of the Vice-Chair of the Committee on a meeting of the above-mentioned
working group held on 23 October 2017 to consider the 'Plas
Maesincla' audit that had received a category B
rating along with audits that received a category C rating, namely-
a) Tan y Marian
b) Plas Ogwen.
Officers had been
invited to attend the meeting to discuss the matters that had arisen from the
audits and the work undertaken since the audit reports had been published in
order to reinforce the internal controls in question.
It was reported
that in accordance with the Committee's decision at a meeting on 28 September,
the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being and the Head of the
Adults, Health and Well-being Department had attended the Working Group meeting
to consider the themes that were often highlighted in Residential Homes'
audits.
A member referred to paragraph 2.7.9 of
the report - "The Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department
expressed that 7 of 11 Gwynedd Council homes had received observations or
recommendations by CSSIW in terms of staffing levels. 2 of the 7 are a lack of
compliance. It is expected that 10 of 11 will receive observations on their
staffing levels - the only exception is Plas Maesincla." It was asked what would be done to respond
to this.
In response, the
Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department noted that more reports had
been received from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW). He
referred to one residential home that complied with the requirements in terms
of staffing levels because beds were kept empty. He explained that staff
maternity leave and the density of the needs of two individuals meant that the
beds needed to be kept empty in order to comply in terms of staffing levels. He
noted that one other residential home had made changes to deal with matters
arising from a CSSIW audit and this inevitably leads to an overspend.
The Head of
Department elaborated that he had attended the Cabinet meeting on 21 November
2017 to discuss the Department's overspend. He noted that the staffing rota at
residential homes had not evolved to respond to the increasing number of
individuals coming to residential homes with profound needs. He explained that
internal audit work raised matters that needed to be addressed, which was a
good thing in order to be able to respond and ensure the quality of the
service. He noted that there was a need to change medication arrangements at
the residential homes and that a bid was currently going through the bidding
process in terms of increasing the rota. It was confirmed that more resources
would be placed in some residential homes in order to respond to specific
problems, and decisions would have to be made with Managers and Deputy Managers
prioritising work on the floor of the homes, rather than completing
administrative work but this could lead to criticism by external auditors.
In response to a
question by a member regarding empty beds, the Head of Adults, Health and
Well-being Department noted that the available beds at the Council's
residential homes varied from 21 to 40. The residential home referred to had
approximately 30 beds, with six empty beds and a waiting list of between 10 and
15 individuals. He noted that care could possibly be provided in an alternative
way and that capacity was needed in the home for individuals with more profound
needs.
RESOLVED to accept the report.
Supporting documents: