CQC rates Cheshire East Council’s adult social care provision as good

The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Cheshire East 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 – 3
2. Supporting people to lead healthier lives – 3
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

James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said:

“At our assessment of Cheshire East Council’s adult social care services, we found people had access to good care and spoke positively about being supported effectively by passionate staff. Their commitment to providing care that met people’s individual needs was clear to see, and this was reflected in the extremely positive feedback people told us.

“The authority was working well with partner organisations to develop the Proportionate Care Project, reducing the number of care interventions people receive to help support their independence. For example, people who needed support from two care workers, now only need care from one, alongside using new technology or equipment. We saw how this had reduced one person’s care package by 43 hours per week, as they’d been set up to use a chat group so they could easily communicate with staff instead of seeing them in person.

“There were community connector staff based in hospitals, who offered people support and guidance on various issues including their mental health and wellbeing, social isolation and debt advice. These staff were there to improve the quality of life for people following discharge.

“Cheshire East had also worked with partners to develop a dementia strategy involving people with lived experiences of dementia to ensure the strategy was person-centred and met people’s individual needs. The strategy was aimed at helping people have a better journey through the health and social care system following a dementia diagnosis, as well as having support networks to help reduce isolation.

“Additionally, the local authority had provided training and awareness sessions to several organisations about dementia related domestic abuse. This meant people who used services could be assured staff who supported them had the appropriate skills and knowledge to help keep them safe and give them the support they need.

“We also heard social workers responded to queries promptly and provided reassurance and emotional support to people when they needed it. Someone told us the social worker who assessed their relative was exceptional. Another person said they’d been very blessed with the services provided and the choices given to them.

“However, the local authority has acknowledged that some people are staying in hospital longer than necessary, when they are ready to be discharged. This was due to people not having suitable accommodation to move into. However, leaders were working with partners to address this.

“Cheshire East 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:

1. The local authority worked with safeguarding partners to reduce risks and to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring. Safeguarding incidents were investigated without delay.
2. People could access equipment and minor home adaptations to maintain their independence and continue living in their own homes.
3. People knew how to access information from the local authority and how to contact them.
4. The local authority engaged with seldom heard groups, such as traveller communities and refugee communities through a welcome café to offer advice and information
5. The authority proactively engaged with people and groups where inequalities had been identified, to understand and address the specific risks and issues experienced by them.
6. Staff were familiar with using translator services and how to access these for telephone or face-to-face meetings and carrying out assessments.
7. The dementia reablement service provided up to 12 weeks of personalised support for people living with dementia and their carers following a diagnosis of dementia.
8. The local authority worked with housing providers and health partners to address the specialist housing needs for people with a learning disability and extra care housing.
9. Waiting lists were monitored and people with the highest need or at most risk were prioritised.
10. Public health were working with primary care colleagues to keep people healthier for longer and reduce the chance of long-term health conditions.

However:

1. National data from the Survey of Adult Carers in England for 2023/24 showed that 11.72% of carers accessed support or services allowing them to take a break from caring for more than 24 hours. This was slightly worse than the England average (16.14%). 16.28% of carers accessed support or services allowing them to take a break from caring for 1-24 hours. This was similar to the England average (21.73%). And 7.14% of carers accessed support or services allowing them to take a break from caring at short notice or in an emergency. This was slightly worse than the England average (12.08%).
2. Most people experienced a positive journey when they moved between services. However, there were mixed experiences of those transitioning from children to adult services.

The assessment will be published on CQC’s website on Wednesday 14 May.