The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Darlington Borough 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.
- Assessing people’s needs – 3
- Supporting people to lead healthier lives – 3
- Equity in experience and outcomes – 2
- Care provision, integration and continuity of care - 3
- Partnership and communities – 3
- Safe pathways, systems and transitions - 3
- Safeguarding - 3
- Governance, management and sustainability - 3
- Learning, improvement and innovation - 3
James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said:
“At this assessment of Darlington Borough Council’s adult social care services, we found a positive culture between staff and leaders, which was reflected in their commitment to continuous learning to help improve services and meet the needs of the local population.
“People’s feedback was mainly positive about their care and support, and people felt they had more control over their daily lives. It was positive to hear that carers in Darlington were more satisfied with social services (52.38%) than the national average (36.83%).
“The authority was working well with partners around hospital discharge. For example, after someone was discharged from hospital, a social worker worked with partners to organise equipment to support them at home. This was installed the same day which meant the person could retain their independence.
“We heard about examples of direct payments being used to support people for a range of needs, including when their first language wasn’t English. The local authority offered care and support from a personal assistant who spoke their first language, which was arranged and funded through a direct payment.
“However, the assessment team found that more work was needed around the local authority engaging with people in the local community and seldom heard groups, so they have more involvement in developing strategies, to help improve services for people living across Darlington. However, plans were in place to develop engagement with relevant groups.
“Overall, Darlington Borough Council should be really 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.”
The assessment team found:
- People could easily access the local authority’s care and support services, including online and via telephone.
- Social care assessments and unpaid carers assessments were good, flexible and included the person’s carer.
- There were drop-in sessions available for people with drug and alcohol difficulties and activities on offer. There was also a food bank, and people could access clothing and a ‘care and share’ group, a citizens advice bureau and emergency accommodation.
- People could access equipment and minor home adaptations to maintain their independence and continue living in their own homes.
- There were systems and processes in place to make sure people were protected from abuse and neglect. The local authority worked well with the safeguarding board and other partners to deliver a coordinated approach to safeguarding adults.
- The percentage of carers that felt involved in discussions or consulted as much as they wanted to be (78.95%), was better than the national average (66.56%).
However, the assessment team also found:
- The local authority had data on equality issues and demographics but didn’t use it to plan services to help meet people’s needs.
- Some partners felt there was a lack of social support groups and affordable day services for people with dementia, although there was a memory cafe and singing groups available.
The assessment will be published on CQC’s website on Friday 30 May.