Agenda Item 3.3 27 JANUARY 2016 Health Board Report SOCIAL SERVICES AND WELL-BEING ACT (WALES) 2014: REVISED REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Executive Lead: Director of Planning & Performance Author: Assistant Director Planning & Partnerships Contact Details for further information: Samia Saeed-Edmonds on 01443 744833 or email samia.saeed-edmonds@wales.nhs.uk Purpose of the Health Board Report In May 2015 the Board noted the development of a Regional Implementation Plan by the Cwm Taf Social Services & Well-Being Partnership Board. The Partnership was required by Welsh Government to submit its plan in order to provide assurance on its readiness for implementation of the Social Services & Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014, which will come into force on 1 st April 2016. The Partnership was also then required to revise its Regional Implementation Plan in October 2015 in order to demonstrate that progress is being made and that all the necessary arrangements will be in place by 1 st April. Governance Link to Health Board Strategic Objective(s) Supporting evidence The Board s overarching role is to ensure its Strategy outlined within Cwm Taf Cares 3 Year Integrated Medium Term Plan 2015-2018 and the related organisational objectives, aligned with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) Triple Aim are being progressed, these in summary are: To improve quality, safety and patient experience. To protect and improve population health. To ensure that the services provided are accessible and sustainable into the future. To provide strong governance and assurance. To ensure good value based care and treatment for our patients in line with the resources made available to the Health Board. The report focuses mainly on protecting and improving population health; and providing strong governance and assurance around partnership activities. Social Services & Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 Cwm Taf Revised Implementation Plan (attached) Page 1 of 6
Engagement Who has been involved in this work? Welsh Government has stipulated that in order to provide assurance and readiness in preparation for implementation of the Act, Social Services & Well-Being Partnership Boards in each Region. The Partnership Board structure in Cwm Taf is considered to be robust, with strong representation from the UHB, Rhonda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, VAMT, Interlink, Care Council Wales and Care Forum Wales. The UHB is represented on the Partnership Board by the Vice Chair, the Director of Planning & Performance, the Director of Nursing & Midwifery and the Assistant Director Planning & Partnerships. The UHB s Partnerships Team has been keeping abreast of legislative and policy development they have progressed, and has proactively contributed to the development of the revised Implementation Plan with the two Local Authorities, and other partners. Health Board Resolution To; APPROVE ENDORSE DISCUSS NOTE Recommendation The Board is asked to:- ENDORSE the revised Regional Implementation Plan for Cwm Taf. Summarise the Impact of the Health Board Report Equality and diversity Legal implications Population Health Quality, Safety & Patient Experience Equality and diversity impact assessments and plans are to be developed for any major programmes of collaborative working. The Social Services & Well-being (Wales) Act, by its very nature, will in part be providing support and care to the more vulnerable in our communities and should also have a positive impact on those people with protected characteristics. The UHB will be required to address the requirements of the Social Services & Well-being (Wales) Act when it becomes law in April 2016. The new Partnerships Board will provide assurance that the requirements of the Act are fully understood, ensuring the UHB is ready to appropriately and adequately discharge its statutory duties under the Act. As a requirement of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) the UHB will be required to lead the development of a new population assessment for the Cwm Taf area. Quality, safety and patient experience is a major theme underpinning the development of innovative, integrated service solutions which are promoted under the Act (for example in mental health, learning disability, older people s or Page 2 of 6
children s services). Resources Risks and Assurance Health & Care Standards Any resource implications to the UHB as part of the collaborative implementation of these requirements will be considered as part of the development of the 3-Year Integrated Plan. Opportunities are also being explored as to where working in partnership can improve quality whilst also reducing costs. As the risks associated with the implementation of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act are assessed they, along with their mitigating actions, will be incorporated in the UHB s corporate risk register. The 22 Health & Care Standards for NHS Wales are mapped into the 7 Quality Themes: Staying Healthy Safe Care Effective Care Dignified Care Timely Care Individual Care Staff & Resources http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/documents/1 064/24729_Health%20Standards%20Framework _2015_E1.pdf Workforce Freedom of information status The work reported in this summary and related annexes take into account many of the related quality themes. A number of opportunities exist to develop integrated service solutions (e.g. older people s mental health or intermediate care), the workforce implications of which are summarised within the 3-Year Integrated Plan. Open Page 3 of 6
SOCIAL SERVICES & WELL-BEING (WALES) ACT 2014 REVISED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 1. SITUATION / PURPOSE OF REPORT Local Authorities in Wales were required by the Minister for Health & Social Services to establish Partnership Boards to oversee arrangements for and provide assurance on their readiness to implement the requirements of the when it goes live on 1 st April 2016. These Partnership Boards have been established on the basis of Health Board footprints, with the Cwm Taf Social Services and Well-Being Board meeting regularly since January 2015. As part of the preparations for the Act, Partnership Boards were required to submit Implementation Plans to Welsh Government by 31 st March 2015. These plans had to be revised and submitted to Welsh Government in October 2015 in order to demonstrate the progress being made across Regions. The revised Regional Implementation Plan is attached as Appendix 1. Within Appendix 1 there are a large number of embedded supporting documents, which are available electronically for review, but will not be printed. 2. BACKGROUND / INTRODUCTION The received Royal Assent on the 1 st May 2014 and will be implemented on 1 st April 2016. The Act creates a new framework that brings together and modernises the law for social services in Wales, increasing the emphasis on preventative actions. It aims to bring people closer to the decisions about the services that affect them, and address the challenges of demographic and economic change. This is one of the first major legislative programmes undertaken by the devolved Government. The Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act will cover services for both children and adults and will, as far as possible, integrate the arrangements for both of these groups so that social care is provided on the basis of need and not age. The Act focuses on: People putting an individual and their needs at the centre of their care, giving them a voice and control over reaching outcomes that help them achieve wellbeing Wellbeing- supporting people to achieve their own wellbeing with better access to information and community support Earlier intervention increasing preventative services within the community to minimise the escalation of critical need Collaboration strengthening duties of collaboration between social services and the NHS as well as strong partnership working with other agencies including the Third Sector Integration - more effective and better integrated models of care and support which provide a more responsive range of services Workforce - a better qualified workforce with skills that enable people to work across organisational boundaries Page 4 of 6
There are a range of specific issues under the Act which primarily affect social services including eligibility, assessment and care planning, looked after and accommodated children, direct payments and charging. However there are also implications for partners around co-operation and partnership and in responding to elements of the Act such as population and individual assessments, wellbeing, the provision of information, advice and assistance, safeguarding, social enterprises and a requirement to establish pooled budget arrangements for care homes and Integrated Family Support Teams. 3. ASSESSMENT / GOVERNANCE AND RISK ISSUES The purpose of the regional implementation plan is to provide an overview of the work streams, key decisions and milestones that are required for the implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. The first iteration of the Cwm Taf Regional Implementation Plan was considered by the Board in May 2015. Since that report, progress has been made in the Cwm Taf region to meet the requirements for implementing the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014, as summarised in the revised Cwm Taf Implementation Plan (Appendix 1). The UHB has been actively engaged in the development of the revised Implementation Plan, which was endorsed by the Cwm Taf Social Services and Well-Being Partnership Board on the 19 th of October 2015 and has been submitted to Welsh Government as required. The plan illustrates all the requirements for the Local Authority which includes the duties that are not shared across all agencies represented on the Partnership Board. Progress From a UHB perspective, some of the major areas of progress made to date include: An awareness raising session on the Act was held for UHB staff in August 2015 Working with Welsh Government and the WLGA to agree an approach to undertaking the required population needs assessment which is consistent with both the Social Services & Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 and the We- Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 Agreeing a collaborative approach to the provision of Information, Advice and Assistance, which was consulted upon earlier in the year Review of the existing Carers Strategies for each statutory organisation and developing a joint approach for a single Regional Carers Strategy which is currently subject to public engagement A common assessment and core data set is operational for integrated assessment and agreement has been secured for four Central Discharge Coordinators Agreement has been secured to pursue a joint Learning Disability commissioning strategy to cover all ages Development of a draft Joint Commissioning Statement for Older People s Services 2015-25, which was engaged upon over the Summer Page 5 of 6
Quarterly reporting evaluation process in place for the Intermediate Care Fund Action plan developed across the region to address the issues raised by the Older People s Commissioner care home review Agreement to create and deliver a seamless service to people needing health and social care support to stay @Home. An outline operating model has been agreed building on the health, social care and third sector services already in place Agreement has been secured to develop a joint Cwm Taf Looked After Children Strategy, for which a common vision has been agreed. The Cwm Taf Safeguarding Board has agreed that they will hold the governance for the Strategy The Together for Mental Health Partnership Board continues to monitor and review progress against local priorities and key actions within the Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan Children and adult safeguarding boards in place The Region is currently exploring the benefits of introducing the community care information system (CCIS) as a single integrated solution for both health and social care Working group convened across all partners to undertake financial modelling and the mapping of services to category is underway. Risks Many of the Welsh Government requirements are set out in the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act, its Regulations and Codes of Practice. Whilst the Act and the Regulations are formally agreed, the Codes of Practice were not released until November 2015. The delay in securing these detailed requirements has meant that there will be some impact on the delivery of training for our staff. However plans are in place to target the training at particular staff groups to ensure key staff understand their roles and responsibilities within the law and are able to support others. Further training will also roll out for other staff into the 2016/17 financial year. 4. RECOMMENDATION The Board is asked to:- ENDORSE the revised Regional Implementation Plan for Cwm Taf. Freedom of information status Open Page 6 of 6