Council's adult social care 'requires improvement'

A council's adult social care provision "requires improvement", a report by a health and social care watchdog has found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found issues at Trafford Council, including people not always being able to access equipment and minor home adaptations in a timely manner, negatively impacting their independence.

People were also found to have waited a long time for occupational therapy assessments.

Jane Slater, Trafford Council's executive member for healthy and independent lives, said they welcomed the clarity provided by the assessment and "recognise the areas where further improvement is needed".

"We have already seen considerable progress over the past year, but we know there is more to do," she said.

The council's Adult Social Care provision supports thousands of residents, including older people, adults with disabilities, people with mental health needs, and unpaid carers.

Mary Cridge, CQC's director of adult social care, said their assessment "found several areas where the local authority needed to make improvements to ensure people had good access to the adult social care and the support they needed".

Cridge said it was encouraging to hear about the progress that had already been made, and the plans and strategies in place to continue improvements.

The CQC report found that while people were happy with the assessment process and the services and support they received, the authority did not always ensure people's voices were heard during assessments.

People transitioning from children to adult services also found the experience confusing, Cridge noted.

But she said leaders were aware of this issue and were taking action to improve transition pathways for young people, including establishing a dedicated transitions team.

She said the council "had some positive areas to build on" and had fostered a positive culture of continuous learning and improvement, thanks to new leadership, appropriate structures, and collaborative partnerships.

CQC looked at nine areas spread across four themes, including providing support and leadership, with a score out of four given - with one representing significant shortfalls and four showing an exceptional standard.

Scores ranged from two for safeguarding, which means evidence shows some shortfalls, to three for learning, improvement and innovation, which means evidence shows a good standard.

A Trafford Council spokesperson said: "While recognising the progress made over the past 18 months, Trafford is clear that it is not yet where it wants or needs to be, and remains committed to delivering further improvements."

Slater said the authority had listened and learned from the feedback received, and was working closely with partners to strengthen services.

Council leader Tom Ross, said it was important to recognise that the report reflected a service undergoing significant change, with much of the inspection activity taking place while improvements were already under way through its Improving Lives Every Day programme.

He said the authority had continued to make progress, reducing waiting times, strengthening support for residents, and improving how services were delivered.

A council spokesperson said it had invested £1.32m in adult social care, including workforce capacity and improving access, reducing waiting times and strengthening support at key points in people's care.

The report has been published on CQC's website.

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