Agenda and minutes

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers to declare any interest which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No interests were declared.

To consider a report of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance.

The report sets out the Scrutiny Review Panel Procedure Rules and suggests that the Panel should adopt them for the purpose of conducting the review.

The Panel are requested to formally adopt the Scrutiny Review Panel Rules for the purpose of conducting the review.

Officer Contact: Georgia Latham on 0161 474 3229 or email: georgia.latham@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) requesting the Panel to formally adopt the Scrutiny Review Panel Procedure Rules for this review.

RESOLVED – That the Scrutiny Review Procedure Rules be adopted for the purpose of conducting the review.

To consider a report of the Director of Adult Services.

The report outlines the proposed scope and brief for the review.

The Panel is requested to agree the scope of the review and outline any areas which they wish to scrutinise further.

Officer Contact: Georgia Latham on 0161 474 3229 or email: georgia.latham@stockport.gov.uk  or Sam Powell on 0161 474 2205 or email: samantha.powell@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Director of Adult Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining the proposed scope and brief for the review including aims and objectives.

It was commented that the report had been written following the discussions that took place at the informal scoping meeting on 29 September 2023 and outlined purpose, aims and methodology of the review. It was noted that the evidence gathering phase of the review had now concluded and each element would be discussed during the course of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To discuss the content and outcomes of the informal meeting held on 29 September 2023.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance advised the Panel that the informal scoping meeting took place on 29 September 2023 and was attended by Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel, the Director of Adult Services and the Service Manager Strategic Service Development.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was noted that officers provided a comprehensive background to the system at the meeting, outlining the key dates relating to the implementation date.

·         It was commented that the system went live at the start of the pandemic and shortly after staff were required to work from home which impacted on resulted in various challenges around the scheduled training.

·         It was noted that the scoping report was drafted following the discussions that took place at this meeting and outlined purpose, aims and methodology of the review, as requested by the Scrutiny Review Panel.

To discuss the content of the system demonstration held on Monday 13 November 2023.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance advised the Panel that the system demonstration took place on 13 November 2023 and was attended by Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel, the LAS Systems Lead, Senior Systems Officer and the Service Manager Strategic Service Development.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was commented that during this meeting the Adult Social Care Systems Team delivered a presentation outlining a LAS system overview, the support and guidance available for practitioners and the core (referral, assessment and support planning), safeguarding and DOLS workflow.

·         It was noted that during the meeting, the Scrutiny Review Panel received a demonstration of the LAS system in a user acceptance test environment and had an opportunity to view the system from the perspective of a practitioner in their everyday role.

·         Members thanked officers from the Adult Social Care Systems Team for their time, a detailed presentation and demonstration of the system.

To discuss the content and outcomes of the briefing held on 30 November 2023 which aimed to support Members to understand the expectations around practice.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance advised the Panel that the briefing held on 30 November 2023 aimed to support the Scrutiny Review Panel to understand the expectations around practice and was attended by Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel, the Assistant Director of Adult Social Care Operations, Principal Social Worker, Head of Transformation - Adult Social Care and Service Manager Strategic Service Development.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was commented that the session provided Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel with invaluable context of practitioner best practice in advance of the individual feedback sessions with practitioners across the organisation.

·         It was noted that the transformation programme relating to the system changes and practice developments was discussed during the briefing.  

To discuss the feedback received from practitioners during the meetings held week commencing 4 December 2023.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance advised the Panel that a series of individual feedback sessions were held with practitioners week commencing 4 December 2023.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

In relation to system training and peer support

·         It was acknowledged that a significant amount of online support was available via the ASC Systems Knowledgebase, and that system support which included telephone support was very helpful, however queried whether one-to-one support or a mentoring service could be provided, where senior practitioners mentored junior/new practitioners.

·         In addition, it was queried whether refresher training or drop-in sessions could be offered to practitioners given the number of changes relating to the system and associated practice since its implementation.

·         It was noted that a monthly newsletter produced by the Adult Social Care Systems Team outlined recent system changes and included a “Did you know” section but noted that the format should always be short and focussed.

·         In response, it was acknowledged that shorter guides and the need for refresher training was an important issue for practitioners to raise to be explored. It was acknowledged that informal mentoring practice had become more challenging during and following the pandemic as more staff worked from home, however peer support and mentoring within teams was a key aspect to having confidence in the system.

·         In relation to the drop in sessions, it was noted that these had been offered for the first year following the system implementation date, however they were considered to be too resource intensive to continue as the same Systems Team were also responsible for responding to IT tickets raised by practitioners, ongoing system developments and associated communications. Instead focussed training was offered in specific areas, at the request of practitioners.

In relation to duplication and efficiency

·         It was noted that system development projects within the Adult Social Care Transformation Programme had already gone someway to addressing the issues.

·         It was however queried whether previous text could be inherited from other fields within the process or from the previous assessment to reduce duplication from form to form and within forms.

·         In response, it was commented that the copy forward functionality was being utilised within the system and decisions had been made on where the copy forward function was relevant and appropriate. It was commented that a review could be undertaken to understand whether copy forward functionality was being maximised.

·         In relation to duplication within forms, it was noted that a number of transformation projects were underway to look at this based on practitioner feedback and practitioners had been involved in these projects.

·         It was queried when these projects had been implemented and in response, it was stated that the significant changes relating to the safeguarding workflow were due to go live the following Monday and that those changes incorporated practitioners feedback around the duplication within the safeguarding and core assessment forms.

·         In relation to the core assessment and support planning forms, Members were advised that this had been redesigned by a group of practitioners and that they were currently testing the final versions so whilst those changes were not yet available, they were imminently due to go live.

·         It was noted that a member of the senior management team had commented that Liquidlogic seemed to be reasonably easy to use at a different local authority whilst practitioners in Stockport had noted that they were taking several days to write up documentation.

·         It was noted that practitioners had advised a new assessment was required for safeguarding when a person moves house and that the whole process had to be repeated. Members acknowledged the importance of environmental context in which safeguarding investigations take place however queried whether having to start again completely was disproportionate. Members queried whether copy forward functionality could be used in this instance.

·         It was queried whether the assessment and support plan forms could be combined, however it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To discuss the content and outcomes of the briefing held on 26 January 2024 which provided an overview of Adult Social Care IT and data and aimed to support Members to understand how data input converted to data output in the context of portfolio performance.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance advised the Panel that the Business Intelligence for Adult Social Care briefing held on 26 January 2024 provided an overview of Adult Social Care IT and data and aimed to support Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel to understand how data input converted to data output in the context of portfolio performance. It was noted that the briefing was attended by Members of the Scrutiny Review Panel, Business Intelligence Analytics Service Manager, Business Intelligence Manager for Adult Social Care, Senior Analysts and the Service Manager Strategic Service Development.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was noted that the that during this meeting the Business Intelligence Team delivered a presentation outlining a strategic, management and service level overview and provided a system walk through of the process of extracting data for specific metrics within the Safeguarding Adults Collection.

·         It was commented that the review topic was selected by Members following concerns around the narrative presented to the Committee that there were recording and data quality issues with the case management system used by Adult Social Care which was impacting on performance reporting, and the briefing with the Business Intelligence Team provided an opportunity to explore these issues and understand the programme of works in place to resolve this in future performance reports.

·         It was noted that, as part of the briefing, the Business Intelligence Team shared a series of useful links and information relating to the statutory returns timetable.

·         It was suggested that data should only be recorded, collected and reported where it was required or beneficial.

·         It was suggested that any system changes that require system outages should be scheduled in a way that limits impact on users and users should be notified.

·         It was queried whether system updates could be scheduled on a set date/time.

·         In response, it was commented that if it was an internal change this could be explored, however where it was a supplier change, changes were implemented on a national basis to all system users and out of individual authority control. It was noted that current practice relating to system outages in the service area’s control was done in consultation with the Senior Management Team to ensure that every care was taken to limit impact on users by completing at lower traffic hours or outside of standard working hours, where possible.

·         In relation to communication, it was queried whether short, useful tips relating to the system could be shared with system users in addition to IT support.

·         In response, it was commented that the Adult Social Care Systems Team had created a newsletter that included tips around the system and ad-hoc communications around changes to the system were sent from a set inbox. It was noted that the Business Intelligence Team had recently created a newsletter that they would be sharing with the service.

·         It was queried whether embedded forms could be more efficient than uploading them to the system.

·         In response, it was commented that this related to the DoLS workflow whereby the forms were currently completed outside of and uploaded to the system. It was noted that whilst the system provided the functionality for the workflow to be completed within the system, at the time, this was a service decision, however a DoLS review was underway to explore the option to complete the form within the Liquidlogic Adults System.

·         It was noted that there were issues relating to where information was stored within the Liquidlogic Adults System.

·         In response, it was commented that this was incorporated within the wider discussion and work around streamlining the system as the less places there were for information to exist, the easier it would be to find information.

The Panel is requested to hold a discussion to determine the proposed content and recommendations of the final report.

A representative of the Assistant Director - Legal & Democratic Governance requested that the Scrutiny Review Panel hold a discussion to determine the proposed content and recommendations of the final report.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was noted that Members comments under earlier items including the recommendations and suggestions, and the information received during the evidence gathering phase would form the content of the final report.

·         It was commented that a number of the recommendations discussed were reflected in the ongoing transformation work, however had not yet filtered into practical application, which would be included within the narrative of the final report.

·         It was commented that a number of the queries, suggestions and recommendations related to practitioners knowledge of the functionality of the system and would form part of the recommendations around training. 

·         It was suggested that elements of the transformation programme should be incorporated into the final report.