Plans to improve adult social care making good progress
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission carried out a full assessment of Gloucestershire’s Adult Social Care service in September 2024. This was completed as part of a two-year inspection programme of all 152 councils with responsibility for adult social care, which were reintroduced as part of the Health and Care Act 2022.
Gloucestershire was rated ‘requires improvement’ under the new CQC assessment process which looks at nine areas spread across four themes. This outcome matches with the council’s own published self-assessment, demonstrating that it knows its services well.
Inspectors noted that the county’s Adult Social Care Services is in the middle of large-scale, five-year transformation programme which they could see is already having a positive impact on services. They said there was a clear strategy to improve quality, enhance commissioning and develop the use of data.
The council is investing an additional £5.6m in its adults transformation plans over the next two years. This is in addition to the £224.264m already committed to adult social care in the 2025 budget which is set to be approved by full council in February.
Inspectors found that overall people’s experiences of adult social care were mixed, and that there was often a difference depending on where people lived, and the type of needs they had. They acknowledged that the council had started some good work to identify these inequalities and make improvements, but the work wasn’t yet embedded.
Inspectors highlighted a strong leadership with good strategic oversight and a passionate and committed workforce. They highlighted the strong partnership and joint working between the council and its health partners to make sure people were discharged from hospital quickly. They found that a creative approach to providing people with mental health care and support was reducing the demand for inpatient hospital treatment. They were pleased to see the number of initiatives to support people to stay healthy and independent, with specialist resources for those with a learning disability or autism. However, the report noted some inconsistencies in functions delegated to health partners, such as mental health and occupational therapy.
The CQC found that waiting times for assessments, care planning and reviews had improved significantly, but said there were still some inconsistencies. Inspectors said people wait too long for a deprivation of liberty assessment and recognised the council is undertaking work to address this.
Whilst access to home care differs across the county, a new hyper localised approach to commissioning care is helping to overcome these challenges. Work is also already underway to improve support for young people transitioning to adulthood by starting this earlier.
Inspectors found unpaid carers had a timely assessment of their needs, and the community support available through Gloucestershire Carers Hub was viewed positively by both carers and partners. However, some carers were not always informed of their right to support, and inspectors felt that assessments for unpaid carers and the person they care for could be better aligned.
Steps are already being taken to make progress in the areas that inspectors found needed improvement. The council has invested £600k from the government’s Accelerated Reform Funding to further boost its plans to transform the information, advice, guidance and support available to carers.
It has also undertaken an end-to-end review of its financial assessment and payments process, and recently extended its Online Financial Assessment tool to make it easier for individuals, their families and carers to complete a financial assessment at a time which suits them. This new tool reduces the need for face-to-face appointments, helps people to plan ahead and make informed choices about their care.
Cllr Carole Allaway-Martin, cabinet member for adult social care at Gloucestershire County Council said: “I am pleased that CQC recognised the significant progress we are making with our ambitious plans to transform adult social care. We are investing an additional £5.6 million into our transformation plans over the next two years, in addition to £224.264 million already committed to adult social care in the 2025 budget.
“Inspectors commended our strong leadership and passionate, committed workforce. Their report demonstrates the improvements we have already made in areas such as access to care provision, use of data, reducing waiting times for assessments, and involving members of our community in the development of services.
“There is still work to be done, but as this report acknowledges, we know what action needs to be taken and this work is already well underway. Inspectors have highlighted key areas in their assessment and addressing these will be our focus for the coming months.”
The report has been published on the Care Quality Commission website