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Managers Report
October 2009
Introduction
PRO Disability has had another
very busy year. There continues to be a steady increase in the number of
cases referred by the Borough of Poole and we continue to support a
growing number of clients referred by Dorset County Council for our
financial service.
Directors/Trustees
During the year the board has
co-opted a new member to the board of Directors. Mrs LF brings
considerable experience to PRO Disability and we will talk about this
further in item 6.
Staffing
Following my appointment in October 2009 my contract was extended to
March 2010 in line with the Borough of Poole Contract.
We have a few new additions to the team; SH has joined our payroll
department as an assistant to our Payroll Officer S-J. KMT, one of our
Direct Payment Support Officers has employed two new part time PAs; DW
and SM, this is because his previous PA BL has now moved into a new
position of Direct Payment Support Worker.
I would like to thank our long standing volunteer; MS whose skills help
support the administrative work of the team. We are currently creating a
new client database and her skills are extremely valuable.
LAC who joined as a volunteer support worker last year has proved to be
a much needed asset to PRO Disability and has now been appointed a paid
member of staff as a Direct Payment Support Worker.
Direct Payments Service Users
The increase in numbers highlights the ever growing interest in Direct
Payments and self directed support and demonstrates the increase in our
work commitments.
In 2007 in Poole we dealt with 180 referrals, this increased to
approximately 270 in 2008 and now in 2009 we are currently supporting
approximately 307 people. This figure includes 17 children’s and
families clients.
Financial Services
We continue to provide a
financial support service to the Borough of Poole and Dorset County
Council, and this still shows a steady increase.
In 2008 in Dorset we were providing finance support to 57 clients, now
in 2009 we are currently providing support to 102 clients.
Website
Next year we plan to extend the web site to include better links with
other community services and groups. Also to use it as a resource for
profiles of potential personal assistants. Though this service is
subject to registration with the Care Quality Commission who is
considering our application.
We were hoping to have done this last year but it is not been
achieved. However, it is a firm aim for the coming year.
Service User’s Forum
Two Service User Forums have been held this year usually at Green
Pastures Christian Centre. We have been joined by people such as NM,
Borough of Poole, Programme Manager for Personalisation and Efficiency
who updated us about the Personalisation agenda, NP from the Borough
Poole who talked about the ‘getting around Poole group’ and local access
issues, and also JW from Poole Library services spoke about the local
library facilities.
At today’s meeting we will be hearing from LA about the ‘Access to
Leisure’ Scheme in Poole.
Satisfaction survey
In February we conducted a postal satisfaction survey about our Direct
Payment support service and our finance and payroll service.
We had a good response with a lot of positive feedback and also some
excellent constructive feedback about ways we could improve, that we
have since implemented.
The Conference Room
The Board of Directors considered all the practical and financial
implications of this facility and the lease lapsed in February this
year.
In Conclusion
Once again it has been a very busy year and despite the current
financial climate. We await the challenge of competing to continue our
Contract for the Borough of Poole. We are in preparation for the Tender,
and also undertaking a structural review of the organisation. We have a
good working relationship with the Borough of Poole and are optimistic
and enthusiastic that we can adjust our service for the future needs of
Personalisation.
I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff team for their
hard work, support and commitment through the year, in particular for
meeting the demands of our growing service as I took up the Interim
Manager position.
I
would also like to thank our Directors, who have, as always, fully
supported us through a time of constant change.
Next, I would like to thank BT from Borough of Poole, CB from Poole CVS,
and RiB from Poole CAB for giving their time, good advice and support to
maintain our effectiveness and efficiency.
Finally I would like to thank you for attending today and wish you a
happy and successful year ahead.
This meeting will be followed by a Service User Forum starting at 3 pm
and you are welcome to stay after we have had refreshments!
LD
Interim Manager
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We
are very excited as we know it will have a huge impact on improving the
recruitment of PAs for Direct Payment users—hopefully speeding up the
Recruitment process and giving a wider choice of PAs!