MP ‘not surprised’ about council’s poor adult services rating, referencing ‘troubling cases’
North Northamptonshire Council’s adult social services requires improvement says the Care Quality Commission in a report published today
By Sarah Ward
Wellingborough MP Gen Kitchen says she is not surprised by a critical report about North Northamptonshire Council’s adult social services.
The Care Quality Commission today published a report following an inspection of the service, rating it as requiring improvement in every aspect it inspected.
It found that feedback from residents was ‘mixed’, with concerns raised about waiting times, including delays to accessing assessments and long waits for equipment aids.
It found that:
“Despite commitment to personalised care, assessments and care planning were not consistently timely or up to date. At the time of review, 311 people were awaiting Care Act assessments and 1481 were awaiting reviews”
It went on to say:
“The local authority recognised these delays and was actively working to reduce waiting lists and improve responsiveness.
Following the publication Gen Kitchen MP has said her office has become aware of issues and in one case had to ‘almost beg’ to get a vulnerable woman support.
She said:
“I’m very concerned about this although sadly, I can’t say I am surprised. My office has heard some very troubling cases from constituents who have needed the services of this council department. In one case, we almost had to beg the council to carry out an urgent assessment of a very vulnerable older lady whose family was crying out for help.
“Delays to assessments, barriers to accessing care and inadequate care once in place, have all been raised with me. While I am pleased to see there is work from the council towards improving some of the issues, the fact that shortfalls have been identified across every area the CQC looked at, really isn’t good enough. The Reform leader of the council really must step in to ensure local people are kept safe.”
It also found that support for carers, which is offered through a commissioned voluntary organisation, had issues with residential respite and said carers direct payments remained limited. It said oversight of service quality and data was limited.
The service is the most expensive that the authority provides, taking up more than a third of this year’s £406m budget.
The authority is Reform UK controlled and cabinet member for adult services Cllr Eddie McDonald, said:
“We fully acknowledge the findings and remain committed to the continuous improvement of our Adult Social Care Services. It has been a year since the CQC commenced their assessment of North Northamptonshire, and we are pleased that the findings have been published.
“We are confident that in the 12 months since CQC started their assessment our continuous improvement activity has delivered measurable progress and improved outcomes for our local community. We look forward to these improvements being reflected in future assessments.”
And director of adult services David Watts said the authority is progressing on its improvement journey.
Chris Badger, the CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said:
“At North Northamptonshire Council, we found a local authority that needed to focus on improving people’s access to care and support pathways and making this consistent and equitable for all. This is especially important in the diverse area the authority covers, with a mix of rural and urban areas and populations. However, the local authority had positive areas of practice and plans in place which it now needs to build on to help improve people’s experiences and outcomes.
“People gave us mixed feedback about engaging with adult social care services in North Northamptonshire. Some people raised concerns about the time they waited for assessments. This included therapy assessments, which led to people waiting a long time to receive support equipment, negatively impacting their independence.
“Our inspectors heard people also had mixed experiences of accessing information and advice, with some able to access relevant resources while others described barriers they faced. The local authority had limited information available for people whose first language wasn’t English and for those who needed information in adapted formats such as easy-read materials.
“However, it was encouraging to hear how staff had regular contact with people they supported and provided tailored support. Staff carried out comprehensive assessments and were aware of wider risks including social isolation. They also made sure they considered people’s individual needs, preferences and ambitions. This helped people receive effective care that helped achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
“We also learned how North Northamptonshire had launched initiatives to help prevent people needing further care in future. This included Support North Northamptonshire, which involved voluntary sector partners and helped people access appropriate support before needing further care and to remain independent.
“We have told leaders at North Northamptonshire the areas they need to develop further and we look forward to visiting again to see how their plans progress.”