Have the respite facilities in conjunction with the Four Seasons Health Care Group been fully approved and inspected

1240/5(5509)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 6th JULY 2010

Question

"Would the Minister confirm that the respite facilities currently being promoted in conjunction with the Four Seasons Health Care Group in Jersey have been fully inspected and approved by her department and that adequate, qualified and competent staff are being employed?

Can the Minister advise how many States funded bed spaces are currently provided by the Four Seasons Health Care Group in Jersey and what is the public cost?

Can the Minister state whether there are plans to introduce a Regulation of Care Law in Jersey and if so, when?

Can the Minister confirm that all staff in private care homes, including the Four Seasons Group, have been properly vetted and Police checked?

Following the Four Seasons Group's recent financial problems, can the Minister confirm that she is satisfied that all their Care Homes in Jersey are properly managed and that residents enjoy a safe, secure and proper standard of care?"

Answer

A thorough process of procurement was followed in support of the recent selection of respite facilities. This included robust evaluation and a range of checks and references including rigorous financial checks. This facility has been providing good quality care to adults with complex needs, placed by HSS, for some time and is supported by qualified and competent staff.

I can confirm that older person's services currently have 30 contracted beds at Silver Springs and a spot purchased' bed at La Haule. For reasons of commercial sensitivity I cannot disclose the cost of these beds.

The Minister for Health and Social Services has a joint role in being both the commissioner and regulator of care home services. This potential conflict of interest will be addressed in new legislation, the Regulation of Care (Jersey) Law 201- which is being developed by the Department with full support of the Ministerial team.

This legislation will include the independent regulation of all public and independent sector care homes, acute hospital services including minor surgery in general practice, social services and domiciliary care. This is a complex piece of legislation and, at a conservative estimate, will take about three years to take through the drafting stage. It is my intention to bring a proposition at a later date to the States setting out the in principle' policy of how this Law will operate.

There is no provision within the current Nursing and Residential Homes Law to require or enable the police vetting of staff. However, in the particular case of respite care, I can confirm that appropriate vetting and barring procedures are in place. Each of the providers contracted to supply the new adult respite services currently undertake full police checks for all employees, and are equally committed, as a part of the contract, to ensuring that staff receive adequate training and support.

The issue of vetting and barring has been raised before and I believe that the vetting department at the States of Jersey Police are unable to carry out criminal record checks due to the current Rehabilitation of Offenders (exceptions) Regulations. This is a matter that will be addressed in the aforementioned Regulation of Care Law. We do however, have specific standards on the recruitment and employment of staff in the sector to ensure the provision of suitably qualified and competent staff.

In December 2009 the parent company made a statement with regard to its financial position which is a matter of public record. Through the statutory inspection processes that apply to all care homes and involves routine inspection twice a year, I remain satisfied that all care homes operated by Four Seasons Health Care are appropriately managed to a proper standard.