Adult social care services at Shropshire Council rated 'good' by inspectors

In the report published today - Friday, February 28, the CQC concluded that ‘evidence shows a good standard’ for the council’s adult social care service.

The watchdog highlighted many areas of good practice and rated the service good in 'care provision, integration and continuity', 'safeguarding', 'partnerships and communities', 'governance, management and sustainability', and 'learning improvement and innovation'.

The CQC looked at nine areas spread across four themes to assess how well the authority is meeting their responsibilities in order to create their good rating.

Inspectors found 'the authority listened to people to identify gaps in the services they provided to improve access to care and support', that it 'had clear and effective management and oversight of adult social care', and 'the amount of people satisfied with their care and support was similar to the national average'.

Other findings included that the authority had 'no waiting lists for preparation for adulthood, financial assessment, mental health or hospital discharge support', and that systems 'helped monitor people’s care journeys, including referrals, admissions, discharges and transitions between services'.

Inspectors also concluded that 'staff enjoyed working for Shropshire Council and felt valued and supported'. 

They said leaders 'provided many training and career development opportunities', and 'had made a significant investment in recruiting and retaining staff'.

The council's staff were also said to support people with reablement services upon hospital discharge, helping them to remain independent when they returned home.

It was however criticised over concerns that people couldn’t always access online information and advice about care and support easily, and because people trying to access occupational therapy faced significant waiting times, leading to delays in receiving equipment and home adaptations. 

In both cases the CQC said the council was working on improvements.

Reacting to the grading, Councillor Lezley Picton, Leader of Shropshire Council, said: "We are extremely pleased with the findings of the recent CQC assessment report, which highlights the strengths and dedication of our teams in delivering essential services to the residents of Shropshire.

“Achieving a Good rating is an excellent outcome for Shropshire Council. Although the assessment is centred on our adult social care service, it represents a broader council effort and highlights the dedication and hard work of our teams in adult social care, public health, housing, as well as our partners. I extend my sincere gratitude to all involved. 

“This assessment demonstrates our commitment to supporting independence, improving care quality, and fostering strong community partnerships to help improve the lives of the people in our community.”

Councillor Cecilia Motley, Cabinet Member for adult social care and public health, added: “We are absolutely delighted that we’ve been given a ‘Good’ rating and very encouraged by the positive comments in the CQC report and the areas where our hard work and innovation has been recognised. 

“Shropshire Council remains committed to improving adult social care services, acknowledging that many people in Shropshire depend on this support. We deeply appreciate and thank our staff who have worked diligently over the past year to assist with the CQC assessment during a challenging period for the council. 

“Additionally, we acknowledge the contributions of our housing, health, and voluntary and community partners in helping us deliver vital services that allow people to thrive.

“We accept there are some improvements to make, which we had already identified in our improvement plans and we are firmly committed to do this as quickly as possible as we strive to become an outstanding service. We will also continue to listen to the views of people who access social care, their families, and care providers to inform our work and provide the best service possible.”

Tanya Miles Executive Director for People at Shropshire Council added: “We are extremely pleased with outcome of our CQC report. It gives us reassurance that we are performing well in the areas providing vital services for our most vulnerable residents. 

“The report clearly highlights our strengths and acknowledges the hard work of our staff and the work we do to safeguard and improve the outcomes for people in Shropshire.

“Shropshire Council’s adult social care services support more than 4,800 adults at any given time to help lead healthy and fulfilling lives, by ensuring they receive the right support in the right place at the right time.

“Our services are driven by the needs and preferences of the people who use them, enabling them to have choice and control over their care and support.

“The CQC recognised this personalised approach to adult social care as a strength, as well as our emphasis on preventative work to avoid or reduce people's need for more support, helping them to live independently.

“I would also like to add that our staff have made us proud. This has been a fantastic opportunity for us to shine and to showcase the incredible work of our adult social care teams and the positive difference they make to the lives of so many people in our county. 

“As a council we have very much welcomed this inspection. It has provided us with an opportunity to demonstrate our practice and also to receive feedback and be challenged. 

Shropshire Council is working to address any areas requiring improvement. The local authority had already identified these and have improvement plans in place which had been shared with the CQC. 

“We will continue to listen and work with our residents and partners and remain committed to addressing the areas identified and will strive to deliver the best possible services to enable people to live their best lives.”

James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said: “At this assessment of Shropshire Council’s adult social care services, we found people had access to good care and support, and shared mostly positive experiences with us. It was clear to see their commitment to providing care that improved independence, which was reflected in what people told us.

“A dedicated team supported unpaid carers’ wellbeing, in addition to online support. The authority had also developed a carers strategy to improve this support and were proactively identifying and engaging with more unpaid carers.

“We saw that waiting times for some services were low and most people told us that they received an assessment tailoring support to their individual needs. Where there was a delay, staff stayed in touch with people, monitoring changes in their circumstances while waiting to keep them safe.

“The authority worked well with partners in healthcare, public health and the voluntary and community sector. Their collaborative approach clearly identified and agreed the responsibilities for people’s care, ensuring people received consistent care.

“Staff had a clear understanding of safeguarding risks and dealt with enquiries promptly. Leaders emphasised the importance of learning from incidents to prevent them from happening again, and partners told us about positive working relationships with the safeguarding team, all of which helped keep people safe.

“However, our team identified some areas that could be improved. People’s experience of care act assessments were mixed, with some reporting that their assessment didn’t consider everything important to them. Some people had a smooth transition from children to adult services, but this wasn’t the case for all.

“Overall, Shropshire Council should be pleased with the many positive findings in our report and are already building on this with further improvement plans. We look forward to returning to see how they have built on areas of good practice and how their plans mature.”