The Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee met to discuss the performance of Adult Social Care, the proposed organisational changes within the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB), and the future commissioning of community equipment services. Key decisions included the direct award of a contract for community equipment services to Enabled Living Healthcare and the agreement to enter into a service level agreement with Newham Council for equipment supply.

Adult Social Care Performance Dashboard

Councillor Marc Francis raised concerns about the performance metrics for safeguarding inquiries, noting that they were consistently below target. He questioned how the committee might be more involved in setting these targets in the future. Councillor Francis also highlighted the significant demand for Occupational Therapy (OT) assessments, particularly for home adaptations, and suggested that performance data for this area would be beneficial to see. Georgia Chimbani, Corporate Director of Health and Adult Social Care, acknowledged these points and stated that the committee would be involved in setting targets in the coming municipal year.

North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) Organisational Change Consultation Outcomes

Charlotte Pomery, Chief Participation and Place Officer, presented the outcomes of the consultation regarding the North East London ICB's organisational restructure. The restructure aims to align with national requirements, reduce running costs by approximately 50%, and redesign the organisation around the model ICB blueprint. Councillor Francis expressed concern about the significant reduction in staffing numbers, from 855 to 597 full-time equivalent roles, and questioned the realism of an eight-person team covering the entire ICB. He also inquired about the outcome of discussions between the NHS and the Treasury regarding redundancy costs. Leo D'Souza, Healthwatch Representative, raised concerns about potential resident impact, stating, some residents are going to miss out, for sure. He questioned which residents were currently missing out due to service reductions and highlighted that while the commissioning budget was not reducing, the workforce running costs were. Councillor Ahmodul Kabir asked for clarification on how Deputy Clinical Directors would integrate clinical knowledge into commissioning various services, specifically regarding contract monitoring.

Future Commissioning of Community Equipment Services

The committee discussed the future commissioning of community equipment services following the collapse of NRS Healthcare. Darren Ingram, Head of Living Well, presented a report outlining the business continuity response and the need to transition to a more stable arrangement. The report recommended the direct award of a contract to Enabled Living Healthcare for the provision of a full community equipment service on a 3+2 basis. Additionally, it was recommended that the Council enter into a service level agreement with Newham Council for the continued supply of equipment via its membership of the Croydon IPH framework. Councillor Abdul Mannan raised questions about temporary housing services and how residents missed out of RICS¹ data and referrals were being managed manually. Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury, Chair of the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee, sought clarification on the first question regarding temporary accommodation and the reasons for delays. The report detailed significant challenges with the current in-house business continuity service, including data management issues, an unstable IT system, staffing instability, and a lack of expertise. The financial impact was also discussed, with a forecast overspend for the current year and a projected funding gap for the next. The proposed solution aims to provide stability and allow for further exploration of longer-term plans.