Government watchdog rates Nottinghamshire Council's adult social care provision as 'Good'

Government watchdog the CQC has a new duty under the Act to assess how local authorities work with their communities and partners to meet their responsibilities.

This includes promoting the wellbeing and independence of working age disabled adults, older people, and their unpaid carers to reduce their need for formal support where appropriate.

Where support is needed it should provide people with choice and control of how their care needs are met.

The inspection assessed the adult social care department’s work and how services are provided according to four themes: working with people, providing support, safety within the social care and health system, and leadership.

The inspectors met with social care colleagues, people who draw on care and support, people involved in coproduction and partners to get a full picture of the quality of adult social care provision and people’s experiences across the county.

The inspection report recognised what was done well, highlighting:

• Solid foundations across adult social care and health services in Nottinghamshire, with the authority understanding the needs of local people
• that most people who draw on adult social care services are happy with the quality of care they receive, generally feel safe and protected from harm
• A strong prevention offer, through the maximising independence service, reablement support, technology enabled care and specialist equipment to help people remain living independently
• That people felt listened to and strategies are coproduced with people who draw on services, demonstrating meaningful involvement that makes a real difference to people's lives
• The skilled, committed and passionate staff working in adult social care.

However, it also pointed out areas where improvements were required, including:

• Services were not always consistent across the county
• People using services often had to repeat their story to different teams or agencies
• Instances where people experienced long waits to be assessed
• Support for carers was inconsistent and needs to be strengthened.

Chris Badger, CQC’s chief Inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said: "When we assessed Nottinghamshire Council's adult social care services, we found the authority understood its local population well and had good understanding of the needs of people in its area.

"It had also developed a wide range of care services to meet those needs. Most people we spoke with were happy with the care and support they received.

“Our assessment found people weren't just consulted, they genuinely helped to shape services and strategies.

"For example, people accessing supported living services helped design the specifications for new supported living accommodation, and unpaid carers helped to develop a carers' booklet which made information about what was available to them more accessible. This involvement is meaningful and makes a real difference to people's lives.

"The authority also had robust arrangements in place for monitoring the quality of care services, this included an integrated quality and market management team that worked with care providers to drive improvements and identify problems early. This helped protect people from poor care before issues escalated.

"However, we did find areas where people's experiences fell short. Some people waited longer than expected for an assessment but there was clear evidence of improvements in reducing these and plans in place to bring these waiting times down further.

“We also found independent advocacy to be an area for improvement so that people could fully participate in decisions about their own care.

"Overall, Nottinghamshire County Council should be proud of the many positive findings in our report and their good rating. There are areas to build on, and we look forward to returning to see the progress they make."

Coun Barry Answer (Ref), cabinet member for adult social care at the council said: “It is fantastic news to hear we have been rated 'Good' by the CQC.

"I’d like to thank colleagues and partners who were involved in sharing their views and experiences with the inspectors.

"Everyone working in adult social care does so because they are committed to making a real difference to improving the quality of life for our residents. We are all proud of this external validation.

“This is a good result, but we are not complacent.

"We are committed to continually making improvements so we can be the best we can."

Coun Kelvin Wright (Ref), deputy cabinet member for adult social care, said: “Having been involved in several CQC visits in my NHS role, I fully understand the hard work that goes into the preparation and conduct of these visits.

"The outcome of ‘Good’ is both rewarding for all the hard work that goes on in adult social care but also reminds us that we can improve in areas which I know the team will be keen to take forward.”

Guy Van Dichele, executive director for adult social care said: “I'm absolutely delighted with the CQC’s assessment of us as a Local Authority and our delivery of adult social care across the county to our residents resulting in an overall judgement of ‘Good’.

“Colleagues from across the council, our wider partners and our adult social care workforce both internally and externally gave CQC an opportunity to see a range of fantastic work that takes place across our county day in day out.

"I hope colleagues are proud of this achievement, as am I.”

“Of course, we will also listen to the feedback in the report and continue with our work to continue to make improvements so we can deliver the best adult social care services possible. I want to thank the Care Quality Commission for the work they did before, during and after their onsite visit in getting to know Nottinghamshire County Council's Adult Social Care Services from many angles and the judgement of the ‘Good’ rating they have concluded with overall.”