Health and Care leads our council’s statutory responsibilities for Public Health and Adult Social Services. We harness the resources of the whole council and partners to improve and protect the health of the population. We mobilise communities to support older and vulnerable adults. We respond to individual enquiries and concerns and make sure that older and vulnerable adults get the care they need and are safe from harm. We maintain a market for care and support to make sure that care and support is available where necessary and at a price that taxpayers can afford.
The Directorate is made up of the following divisions:
Adult Social Care and Safeguarding
As a service we are working in partnership to ensure that people who need support areable to maintain and maximise independence.
Care Commissioning
Care commissioning is responsible for the following functions within Health and Care:
- Commissioning, shaping and developing Adult Social Care services and managing brokerage of those services.
- Ensuring quality and effectiveness, long term sustainability, good value, effective outcomes and measurable improvements in quality and productivity in the services the Council commissions for people with care and support needs.
- Co-producing, developing and implementing multi-agency strategies and plans, which achieve priority outcomes for Staffordshire residents.
- Implementing a strategic, commercial and outcome-focused approach to management of current and future adult social care providers and leading market/provider development activities.
- Co-ordinating intelligence and support for the adult social care marketplace in relation to Covid-19.
The Care Commissioning responsibilities are currently split into the following sub teams as follows:
- Older People and Physical Disabilities Commissioning Team
The team provides social care support to older people and working age adults with a physical or sensory disability. We give on-going social care support to approximately 10,000 older people and 1,200 younger adults with a physical disability each year.
- All Age Disability and Mental Health Team
This team focuses primarily on improving outcomes for people with Learning Disabilities, Autism, Mental Health aged 18-64 and Carers of all ages in Staffordshire. The numbers of individuals we commission services for are lower than for the Older People and Physical Disability Team, but the care needs in this cohort mean that they may require support over longer periods and they may also require more intensive support.
- Market Management function - This covers:
- Quality Assurance Team
The Quality Assurance Team is responsible for the monitoring of Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated adult social care services. This includes care homes, home care providers and supported living providers.
The team collates and analyses information to identify which services require enhanced monitoring and support. This includes visiting services and creating action plans, along with sharing resources and guidance to support the provider and drive improvements.
- Provider Improvement and Response Team (PIRT)
The Provider Improvement and Response Team is jointly funded between Staffordshire County Council and the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups and is comprised of nurses and officers.
The team works with residential and nursing care home providers who require more intensive support, based on escalated level of concerns. These care homes can also benefit from the clinical expertise in the team.
Like with the Quality Assurance Team, this includes visiting services, creating action plans and sharing resources and guidance.
- Care Market Development Team (CMDT)
The Care Market Development Team works with Staffordshire's care organisations to recruit, retain and develop highly skilled staff. The team supports those seeking employment in the sector and employers who are seeking staff. The team also plans and facilitate access to a wide range of sector-specific training and events to staff at all levels, in addition to signposting the social care sector to a wide range of information, guidance and resources.
If you need to contact the team, please contact: CMDT@staffordshire.gov.uk
- Brokerage Service
The Brokerage Service plays a crucial role in sourcing care and support services to meet adult social care assessed needs while achieving best value for the taxpayer.The team liaises with Social Care Assessors and Social Workers, individuals with assessed care needs, their family members, carers or representative regarding service offers to support timely commencement of their care and support services.
The team uses digital systems where possible to source care and support, but for some services it will also contact providers directly to negotiate both price and quality. This includes residential and nursing care, home care, extra care, day care, supported living and carer support. The team works closely with the Council’s commissioners, commercial unit and Quality Assurance Team, so that any gaps in market capacity can be quickly identified and resolved. They also link closely with care providers, giving them as much information on future and present demand as possible.
- Covid -19 Provider Incident Management Team (PIMS)
The primary remit of the Provider Incident Management Support team is the provision of proactive and reactive support to the adult social care marketplace (irrespective of the contracting and funding mechanism) in respect of Covid 19, as per the local outbreak control plan.We work closely with a range of local partners and other key stakeholders in order to achieve the primary objectives of the local outbreak control plan, including but not limited to adult social care settings, infection prevention control, quality assurance & the Provider Improve.
- Public Health
Public Health are accountable for the:
- Surveillance of population health
- Development and implementation of multi-agency public health strategies and policies to improve health and well-being
- Commissioning of prevention services
- Protecting the population’s health from communicable diseases and non-communicable environmental hazards
- Support for integration and commissioning of health and care services across the Council and the local NHS..
The Director for Health and Care, Dr Richard Harling, works with Elected Members and public, private and third sector partners and communities to harness the county’s resources to deliver improved health, prosperity and happiness for local people and communities. He has full leadership accountability for the transformation and delivery of business plans for Adults Social Services and Public Health across Staffordshire.
For more information about Dr Richard Harling, Director of Health Care, and his Leadership Team, visit Dr Richard Harling - Staffordshire County Council.
Economy, Infrastructure and Skills
Work experience and volunteering
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- Two Staffordshire companies have been recognised for their contribution to business in the 2023 King's Awards for Enterprise.
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- A Staffordshire business who has benefitted from borrowing a carbon dioxide monitor to improve ventilation within their workplace, is urging others to take advantage of the free scheme.
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- A Stafford school that moved into a brand-new location in 2020 has had its official opening celebration today (Wednesday).
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- Staffordshire residents can play their part in minimising the spread of Covid-19 this summer, by getting fully vaccinated and taking sensible precautions.