Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Chair of the Independent Board of Directors.

The Chair of the Independent Board of Directors presented the report setting out a company update. The following points were highlighted.

·       Since the last meeting, an all-councillor webinar had been held and was well attended.

·       Residential bed occupancy at the end of January 2024 was at 91%.

·       Community reablement was working well with significant savings in hours of prescribed care. Care Dorset continued to aim to use beds more flexibly.

·       With the support of the commissioning team, Care Dorset was working more closely with NHS colleagues.

·       Recruitment activity was continuing to do well and was above the national average.

·       Significant work was taking place on the 5-year strategy which was going to be closely aligned with the Council’s commissioning strategies.

The Managing Director for Care Dorset provided an update on the most recent colleague survey.  There had been an increase in the response rate compared to the previous survey in 2022, with 27.3% of submissions. Areas for focus going forward included communication, senior management visibility and transport.

In response to a question regarding the levels of recruitment retention, the Managing Director indicated there was room for improvement.  In respect of a further question around development opportunities, the Managing Director advised that an apprenticeship offer was being developed and Care Dorset had a healthy training budget for core and additional training.  Preparations were in place for a leader programme to be launched later in the year.

In response to a question around the communication offer, members were advised that the following communication vehicles were already in place, a weekly bulletin, and a fortnightly letter from the managing director. He further advised that the service was planning to run a series of town hall events to facilitate community engagement.

In response to a question around feedback from users, members were advised of the current practice which was an evolving process.

Noted