The South Glos Post

From Cllr Andy Perkins (Labour)

Figures released by South Gloucestershire Council show that the number of complaints it has received about its home care service has risen by 47% since last year.

The figures, released in its Annual Report on Customer Complaints and Representation show that the Conservative-run Council received 88 complaints about its home care service from April 2009 to March 2010 – up 28 on last year. Of these, 83 (94%) were about home care provided by external agencies working in partnership with the Council. The Council currently buys 81% of its home care from external sources.

In contrast, the 19% of home care that is provided by the Council’s own staff resulted in only five (6%) of the complaints.

Councillor Andy Perkins (Labour) who chairs the Council committee which scrutinises the work of the Community Care department said;

“What concerns me about these figures is the disproportionate number of complaints that are received about external agencies. This is particularly worrying as the Conservative administration is committed to increasing the proportion of home care provided by external agencies and intends to expand its so-called partnership working into areas like residential care once it has closed the current eight elderly peoples’ homes.”

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Source: Cllr Andy Perkins

South Gloucestershire Council has produced two informative and easy to understand leaflets about the social care support that the council can help with.

The leaflets contain the most up-to-date information and are available in libraries, doctor’s surgeries, community centres, the council’s one-stop shops and in many other places.

One leaflet is a simple directory listing the wide range of services that the council’s community care and housing service provides to adults, alongside a comprehensive list of all the factsheets that the council produces. Each of these factsheets gives detailed information about the help and services available; the factsheets can be obtained by visiting the council website www.southglos.gov.uk, from one stop shops or by calling 01454 868007 or 01454 868005.

The second booklet, called Transforming Lives, outlines how help is provided, shows how personal budgets and direct payments can help service users and helpfully explains the steps people should take to get help from the council.

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

The first residents have started moving into Cambrian Green Court in Yate – South Gloucestershire Council’s first multi-million pound extra care housing development.

Councillor Matthew Riddle and staff from Cambrian Green Court met some of the new residents on Friday 28th January, including Eric Ball, who has moved there from Frome House, a care home in Yate. Cllr Riddle took the opportunity to show Mr Ball around the excellent facilities on offer in his new home.

Mr Ball has lived in the South Gloucestershire area from many years and worked as a foreman in a spray and body shop. When the closure of Frome House was announced, Mr Ball expressed an interest in the proposed extra care development at Cambrian Green Court and then visited the site regularly to watch the scheme progress. He was there when the foundations were laid and even got to know the contractors well.

Mr Ball was very impressed when he first looked around the facilities at Cambrian Green Court, commenting: “This place is marvelous and I am delighted to be able to have my own front door. I feel very safe and secure here and the staff have really helped me settle in – I know many of them from my time at Frome House, so I know that I can rely on them to provide the same marvelous level of care and support.”

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Conservative councillors’ view of a recent decision by South Gloucestershire Council

A call by ‘out of touch’ Labour and LibDem councillors on South Gloucestershire Council to think again on plans to provide hundreds more home care hours has been dismissed by the authority’s Conservative care chief.

Following a special ‘call-in’ meeting of its Community Care & Housing Select Committee back in October, Labour and LibDem councillors called for the Conservative-run authority to re-consult on working with an external partner – either in the community, voluntary or commercial sector – to build and run two new ‘next generation’ residential care homes in Yate and Kingswood.

The Lab-LibDem request was branded ‘bizarre’ after it was shown that 90 per cent of the record number of people who took part in last year’s extensive council consultation preferred the option that identified the possibility of working with a partner if it was found to be advantageous.

It has now been calculated that the equivalent of around 500 extra home care hours a week will be generated when the council extends the partnership approach it is already taking with its first three extra care developments to the planned two new residential care homes too – rather than building and running them itself.

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Source: Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Councill