Wokingham Borough Council: local authority assessment
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Overall summary
Local authority rating and score
Quality statement scores
Summary of people’s experiences
Most people in Wokingham were supported by timely and strengths-based assessments of their needs. People generally felt listened to by staff who considered their wants, needs, wishes and aspirations in their assessment, support plans and reviews.
People were supported by staff who had access to training and support that enabled them to in turn support people in a strengths-based way. People had access to online and physical spaces to meet in the community that supported them to access care and support in a way that suited them. Not everyone we spoke with found the local authority website to be easily accessible.
Options were available to support people to use their direct payment in a way that supported them. Some people had shared they can be difficult to manage and there were some ongoing improvements based on people’s feedback.
Some carers have had mixed experiences. Some carers we spoke to had waits for assessments and assessments that did not initially meet their needs. However, we did hear evidence of follow up assessments that improved people’s experiences. Most carers were supported with strengths-based assessments that considered future need and contingency planning. Carers knew where to go to get support in the community. Some carers had identified that more respite and opportunities for breaks were needed.
People were contacted regularly to ask about support they might need or if their needs had changed when they waited. Technology enabled care, equipment, and minor adaptations were available in an easy to access and timely way. This included through dedicated teams, including occupational therapists and technology enabled care specialists, and also through frontline staff in all teams who were trained as trusted assessors. This included people who funded their own care and support. A variety of voluntary and community sector agencies worked in partnership with the local authority to provide preventative services in people’s local areas. Services across the spectrum of need were having tangible impact on people’s experiences and outcomes. This included following hospital discharge, where there were a range of services that supported people's reablement and which allowed for timely discharge and supported them to regain their independence when they returned home.
Some people were waiting for reviews. Out of area reviews were prioritised and the risk to those waiting was regularly reviewed and assessed. The backlog of overdue reviews was decreasing. While people were placed out of area, approximately 70% were placed in neighbouring local authority areas.
People told us they felt listened to by the local authority at all levels. People with lived experience of care and support services had a clear and respected voice in the local authority. This was improving the experiences and outcomes of people in Wokingham.
Summary of strengths, areas for development and next steps
Staff demonstrated a person-centred approach in assessing needs and developing care plans. Staff we spoke with felt supported by a visible and compassionate management and senior leadership team. Staff had access to ongoing training and support opportunities that allowed them to develop their skills and knowledge.
The local authority had clear pathways in place that quickly identified care and support needs. People generally did not wait long for assessments or services. Where needs were identified at the point of initial contact, staff could engage a variety of services, internally and in the community, to ensure people waited well. Where people did wait, they were contacted regularly to understand if need or risk had changed. People could access services in the community, such as the Residents’ Reception and Charity and Community Hub, to meet someone face to face for advice, guidance, and support.
The demographics of Wokingham were changing. Staff understood this well. There was a palpable desire to get things right for communities in the borough who may be at risk of experiencing poorer outcomes. There were several examples shared with us of ways staff were supporting people from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, the Hong Kong community and people seeking asylum for example. The local authority was in the process of becoming a Marmot Place, as part of their commitment to reducing inequalities for people who may be ‘lost in the averages’. This was an area of considerable focus and development for the local authority.
Partnership working arrangements in the borough were well established and robust. The local authority worked well with the voluntary and community sector organisations in the area to deliver services. The local authority valued and respected the role of the voluntary and community sector in the borough as a key delivery partner in fulfilling their prevent, reduce and delay duties of the Care Act 2014.
A range of quality services were available in the area to meet people's needs, alongside effective resources to support the improvement of provision. We heard examples of significant support provided to agencies in the borough to improve. Capacity and sustainability were regularly and carefully considered to ensure sufficient capacity whilst also not over saturating the market beyond the capacity to support it. There were no waiting lists for operational commissioning services that arranged packages of care with providers.
There were some identified challenges in the market, specifically related to dementia care and high-cost services in the area. The local authority had invested in care homes as part of a strategy to reduce the effects of these issues and provide further choice for people in the borough. The collaborative reablement project also sought to build care sector capacity by training and funding domiciliary care agencies to deliver reablement support. There was ongoing work to develop accessible supported housing within the area to provide further choice.
Safeguarding processes and practice in Wokingham were clear and people were supported by timely and effective responses. The Adult Safeguarding Hub provided consistent involvement throughout enquiries to maintain momentum. There were no allocation delays. Staff and leaders were knowledgeable about local safeguarding risks and issues. Partners told us enquiries were conducted quickly and thoroughly. There was a waiting list for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications in the borough. Risk was well understood and considered. There were processes in place to effectively prioritise applications and a proactive culture of engagement and training with the sector.
There was a culture of continual learning and improvement evident in the local authority’s approach, for example, in the robust quality assurance framework in place. Quality and oversight of risk was owned and clearly understood.
The local authority had a robust data, performance and insight system which was long established and described as being at the heart of what they do. It was actively used at all tiers of management and by council members to understand activity, impact and prospective demand. Evolution and continuous improvement were built into working approaches.