The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Leeds City Council as good, in how well they are meeting their responsibilities to ensure people have access to adult social care and support under the Care Act (2014).
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.
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. CQC has given each of these nine areas a score out of four with one being the evidence shows significant shortfalls, and four showing an exceptional standard.
1. assessing people’s needs: 2
2. supporting people to lead healthier lives: 2
3. equity in experience and outcomes: 3
4. care provision, integration and continuity of care: 3
5. partnership and communities: 3
6. safe pathways, systems and transitions: 3
7. safeguarding: 3
8. governance, management and sustainability: 3
9. learning, improvement and innovation: 3
Chris Badger, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said:
"At this assessment of Leeds City Council, we found passionate leaders and committed staff, who were delivering person-centred adult social care to people. They were also working well with local communities to understand their individual needs so they could address any risks and issues they faced.
"For example, staff told us about the positive impact one initiative was having on people to help reduce isolation and promote their independence. New activities had been introduced, and inclusive environments had been created so people who previously found it difficult to be involved in community activities were able to join in, such as people with a learning disability or other specific needs.
“The local authority was working well with partners to deliver intermediate care and reablement services. This included their HomeFirst programme which had made a significant impact on improving people’s experience of hospital to home discharges. It ensured they had access to physiotherapists and social workers, as well as doctors and nurses to provide reablement care.
“We heard how staff were able to respond quickly to people in a crisis, by completing urgent assessments and linking in with partner organisations, such as housing or the police so they receive timely support. For example, an unpaid carer sadly passed away, so staff urgently arranged for someone to stay with the person they cared for, until alternative more long term arrangements were made for them.
“However, although most unpaid carers told us they had a good experience with their carers assessment and gave examples of the positive impact it had on them, some hadn’t received an assessment and were unaware of how to access them.
“Leeds City 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 these areas of good practice and how their plans mature.”
The assessment team also found:
- Leaders were experienced and had clear oversight of adult social care services across Leeds, so they could provide appropriate support to meet people’s needs.
- The local authority had effective systems in place to make sure people were protected from abuse and neglect. Staff felt supported with safeguarding decisions and had the correct knowledge and skills to carry out their work in relation to safeguarding people.
- People could easily access equipment and minor home adaptations to maintain their independence and continue living in their own homes.
- People’s transitions were well managed, and staff had recently worked with a neighbouring local authority’s transitions team to learn from each other, which had a positive impact on their own service.
- The local authority was improving occupational therapy support, by expanding roles and providing extra training. A project was being carried out to help people move from 2:1 care to 1:1 so it’s less intrusive.
However:
- The local authority didn’t always ensure that assessment and care planning arrangements were timely and up to date. This was being addressed at the time of the assessment.
- The local authority didn’t have a good uptake of direct payments. However, more work was being carried out to increase the number of people using these payments to pay for care.
The Leeds City Council assessment will be published on our website on Wednesday 15 October.