Following an inspection the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Derby City Council could be better conducting social care assessments and providing stronger support plans.
On Friday 16th August the CQC published their report into Derby City Council’s adult social care following an inspection. The health and social care regulator deemed the sector requires improvement after they were met by a mixed response from people who use the service.
To conduct their assessment, the CQC – who have recently come under fire – focused on nine areas spread across four themes which included how the council works with people, providing support, ensuring safety standards and leadership.
‘At this assessment we found people’s experiences of care and support from Derby City Council were mixed,’ explained James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care. ‘However, leaders at the authority had really good oversight and were already aware of some of their shortfalls prior to the inspection and were taking steps to address them, such as their notable improvement reducing waiting times in safeguarding enquiries and assessments.’
‘Some people felt their views were listened to, and their needs considered throughout the assessment process. However, carers told us assessments weren’t always carried out quickly, highlighting a lack of communication between the assessment teams and providers,’ Bullion continued.
‘There were 48% of known carers who were overdue a review, with some telling us they would like more preventative support as they were only reviewed following a mental breakdown or other serious situation. However, work had started to improve communication with them to help understand their needs.
‘Providers of social care told us there were people whose care and support needs had increased, and this wasn’t reflected in their current support plans. Also, some people who were accessing their services hadn’t had a review in many years to ensure they were receiving care that was right for them.
‘There were also differences in health inequalities across minority groups affecting access to services. There was a rising demand for people with complex needs that might require specialist provision for mental health, homelessness, substance misuse, learning disabilities and autistic people. Also, there was a gap in services for the deaf community and for those living with dementia, where the authority was unable to provide local services and placements, including limited respite care, due to the rise in demand.
‘However, the local authority was working in partnership with a number of organisations to ensure they formed closer links to the community with the aim of reducing health inequalities across Derby City.’
On the topic of differences, some positive and negative finds from the CQC include:
- A shortage of social care staff
- Inconsistencies around direct payment usage as information shared explained that some families have direct payment accounts building up excessive amounts
- The council had sky-high waiting lists for assessments and reviews
- However, there were good examples of positive preventative support in the community – people had been trained to take blood pressure
- There’s good access to equipment and minor home adaptations to help maintain independence
- The council recognised that they faced additional challenges in relation to the financial impacts on carers due to levels of deprivation in Derby, and the cost-of-living crisis
Outlining the local authorities next steps, Bullion said: ‘It was positive to find the local authority had started work to understand the needs of seldom heard groups, those people who find it more difficult to access council services, through various initiatives, but there was still more work to be done in this area.
‘Leaders at Derby City Council had already started to draft strategies to make improvements in the areas we found at this assessment, in order to improve services for people in Derby. The authority should continue to make further improvements for carers, for providers, and to address inequalities through these strategies. We look forward to returning to see how these changes have been made and embedded.’
Image: Derby Council House
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