Derbyshire County Council has today (12 February) published its Cabinet papers – ahead of a Cabinet meeting on 20 February - which include a report recommending proposed closer working with DCHS.
In the report, which you can read here, DCC Cabinet Members are being recommended to explore in more depth a proposal for entering into a Section 75 integrated working agreement with us, about how short-term reablement and rehabilitation services could be delivered to patients more jointly. Reablement services are aimed at helping people remain independent at home for as long as possible and to return home after a hospital stay.
Our DCHS Trust Board last week (6 February) confirmed a willingness in principle to move forward with integration, having listened to the consultation feedback and reviewed the Equalities Impact Assessment.
There are several further steps in scrutinising this proposal in the coming weeks before anything is finally agreed.
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Members will consider the recommendation at their meeting on 20 February. If they agree with the recommendation, then our DCHS Trust Board will form a final view on the proposal at their next Board meeting on 6 March.
Should our DCHS Board remain supportive, after their meeting on 6 March, executive directors will start working with Derbyshire County Council to move towards establishing a formal Partnership Agreement, using Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006.
At DCHS we already operate Section 75 agreements with Derby City Council for Community First, and with Derbyshire County Council for children’s services and sexual health services. Signing up to a Section 75 agreement for short-term reablement and rehabilitation services would be in line our long-term strategic partnerships designed to improve the health, care and support available for people in Derby and Derbyshire. It is compatible with our vision to see the health of local communities improve through partnership working, putting people at the centre and looking to the future.
The Cabinet papers, published ahead of the Cabinet meeting on 20 February, also include a separate paper outlining recommendations about which local authority care settings will be retained to provide long-term care for people with dementia and which will be used for community support beds (intermediate care).
The paper makes recommendations about the future use of these settings. It recommends a consolidation of community support bed provision into three settings, Bennerley Fields, Staveley Centre and Thomas Fields, and a total increase in community support bed numbers. If the Council's Cabinet agree with these proposals, this will have an impact on DCHS colleagues working in those and existing community support bed settings. Once this is clear, we will let you know and note the engagement with colleagues we will need to do, to transition from where we are now to the new model. This will take considerable planning in an integrated way before implementation. Please discuss with your leaders if you have any queries or concerns.
DCHS was invited to send reps to the Council's internal staff briefings today (12 February). We’ll update DCHS colleagues once any further information is available in the coming weeks, so that we can keep colleagues briefed across both organisations and aid information sharing; also to ensure those most directly affected are informed and supported as we go along, should these Section 75 and care home developments go ahead.
We’ll continue to keep you briefed on both proposals after the meetings on 20 February and 6 March. In the meantime, please send any queries to us at: dchst.communications@nhs.net.