Decision details

As part of the Borough's localised response to the failures which took place at Winterbourne View, the Board is asked to approve the Joint Strategic Plan which must be in place by 01 April 2014. Feedback and comments from the Board will be incorporated into the final version of the agreed plan.

Stephan Brusch (NHS England) updated the Board on London-wide progress in implementing the Winterbourne View Concordat. The Board was given assurances that placements and care plans are being scrutinised and people are being moved into a community setting, where it is appropriate to do so without disruption or upheaval. Where people are being cared for in an inpatient setting those individuals are receiving support. This work is being overseen at a national level by an Enhanced Quality Team of NHS England.

The Board noted the establishment by NHS England of a Specialist Commissioning Unit to give support to London boroughs. An event has been held to tease out local barriers to implementing the Concordat and feedback from stakeholders is being used to inform the London action plan.

Stephan Brusch commented that Barking and Dagenham’s response to Winterbourne View has been strong. When the self-assessment framework was reviewed by NHS England Barking and Dagenham showed a good focus on health outcomes. Stephan Brusch encouraged the borough to show progress against integration outcomes in order to take delivery of the Concordat to the next level.

Anne Bristow (Corporate Director Adult and Community Services) highlighted the challenge of meeting a large spectrum of need for roughly 160 people. Specialist need cannot be wholly met using borough resources; partnership working is therefore required within the sector and North East London region to deliver parts of the Concordat.  Other challenges the Board noted were developing pooled budgets through section 75 agreements and that the Council has recently replaced its commissioning officer responsible for overseeing the Concordat. 

Anne Bristow confirmed to the Board that the small number of inpatient placements for Barking and Dagenham have been reviewed by the Divisional Director of Adult Social Care and the Chief Operating Officer of the CCG. The Joint Strategic Plan, when presented to the Board in March, will give further detail and assurance as to the borough’s position. It was noted that the timescales for delivering the Concordat are challenging but work is well advanced and it is expected that the local plan will be robust and credible having undergone a quality assurance process through NHS England.

The Board agreed to:

1.  Note the progress that the Borough has made in achieving the actions set out in the Winterbourne View Concordat since it last briefing.

2.  Note the Winterbourne View ‘stocktake’ document which has been produced for the Winterbourne View Joint Improvement Programme.

3.  Note the identified risks and mitigation plans.