Government of Jersey

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A decision made (17/07/2009) regarding: Response to Scrutiny Report - Long Term Care of the Elderly.

Decision Reference: MD-S-2009-0039
Decision Summary Title :	Response to Scrutiny Report SR 12/2008 – Long Term Care of the Elderly		Date of Decision Summary:	16 July 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Sue Duhamel, Strategy and Policy Director		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Response to Scrutiny Report SR 12/2008 – Long Term Care of the Elderly		Date of Written Report:	16 July 2009
Written Report Author:	Sue Duhamel, Strategy and Policy Director		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Report to the States - Response to Scrutiny Report SR 12/2008 – Long Term Care of the Elderly
Decision(s): The Minister decided to present a written Report to the States in response to the Scrutiny Report SR 12/2008 – Long Term Care of the Elderly
Reason(s) for Decision: Report SR 12/2008 – Long Term Care of the Elderly - includes a number of recommendations that have implications for the Social Security Department. The Report sets out the response to these recommendations.
Resource Implications: None.
Action required: States Greffe to arrange for the Report to be presented to the States at the earliest opportunity.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Response to Scrutiny Report - Long Term Care of the Elderly

The Minister for Social Security thanks the Scrutiny Panel for its detailed work on the issue of Long Term Care, as detailed in the Long Term Care of the Elderly Report SR12/2008.

The Minister endorses the comments made by the Minister for Health and Social Services, which were prepared in conjunction with the Social Security Department. These comments were presented to the States on 30 March 2009 (SR.12 Res).

The following additional comments are made in respect of recommendations pertinent to the Social Security Department.

Recommendation 1 – Establish a working party under the chairmanship of the Minister for Health and Social Services:

The Minister will be pleased to become a member of any such formal working group established by the Minister for Health and Social Services. Regular meetings currently take place between Health and Social Services and Social Security at officer level in respect of a number of initiatives.

Recommendations 4, 5 and 6 - Investigate a contributory insurance-based scheme for long-term care funding:

As explained in the response of the Minister for Health and Social Services, the 2009 Business Plan for Social Security includes a commitment to produce a consultation paper on this subject by June 2009. Due to the need to divert resources to deal with a number of matters including detailed pandemic H1N1 flu planning, the introduction of an insolvency scheme and the impact of economic stimulus bids, it will not be possible to meet the original timetable but a report will be available in the next few weeks. The report will cover long-term care for individuals of all ages.

Recommendation 8 - Guidance and education:

The Minister endorses the response of the Minister for Health and Social Services. A guide to current residential care support is now available as a leaflet and on the gov.je website.

Recommendation 9 – Elderly care funding approached as a discrete, urgent issue:

The Minister endorses the response of the Minister for Health and Social Services. The Department will work towards primary legislation being approved by the States before the end of 2010. After this, it will still be necessary to prepare and implement detailed regulations and new administrative processes.

Recommendation 13 - “Open book” policy for care providers:

The method of identifying appropriate levels of support will be considered as part of the overall project reviewing funding for long term care.