Agenda item

8.1

The Committee considered a joint report of Barbara Carlisle, Communities, Sheffield City Council, and Pamela Coulson, Commissioning Manager, NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group, on the Government’s commitment to transform services for all people with learning disabilities or autism, who had challenging behaviour or a mental health condition, following the staff abuse of patients with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View, a private learning disbility hospital.  In December 2012, the Department of Health published ‘Transforming Care: A National Response’ and the accompanying ‘Winterbourne View Concordat: Programme of Action’, which set out 63 Transforming Care commitments, the central commitment being that by 1^st June 2014, anyone with a learning disability and challenging behaviour, whose care would be appropriately delivered in the community, should be moved out of hospital or other institutional setting.

8.2

The report indicated that as at July 2013, Sheffield had a total of 18 adult placements funded in out of city placements and of those 18 placements, 12 had been placed by NHS Specialist Commissioners, with the remaining six being identified as having the potential to be repatriated to Sheffield.  All six had now returned, with five being returned within the target timescale.

8.3

Barbara Carlisle highlighted the main priorities in terms of the actions required to progress Transformation, and what the Council was doing for the people of Sheffield in terms of the Transforming Care Programme.

8.4

Members raised questions and the following responses were provided:-

·                The majority of people in hospital, out of city, received 24-hour support as part of their Support Plan.

·                Staff in Commissioning, Communities, were working very closely with colleagues in Children, Young People and Families and the Clinical Commissioning Group in order to clearly identify where those people in out of city placements were based, when they would be returning to Sheffield and what provision they would require on their return.

·                The Policy and Improvement Officer would be requested to make arrangements for regular updates on the ‘Transforming Care Action Plan’, and details of its delivery, to be shared with this Committee.

·                The reason as to why 12 people had been placed by NHS Specialist Commissioners, and not back to Sheffield, was due to the fact that Sheffield does not have any secure forensic services.

·                Commissioning plans were being put in place to ensure that people and families were well supported, including those people who were not currently in the system when circumstances may change.

·                The Council and the NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group were working hard to reduce the number of children with complex needs being sent out of the City due to a lack of specialist provision in Sheffield.

8.5

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the contents of the report now submitted, together with the information now reported and the responses provided to the questions raised;

(b)       thanks Barbara Carlisle and Pamela Coulson for attending the meeting and responding to the questions raised;

(c)        based on the information provided, is satisfied that the current arrangements, and planned arrangements for the future, in connection with the Transforming Care Programme in Sheffield, are satisfactory; and

(d)       requests that a report providing an update on the progress of the arrangements be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.