Warwickshire maintains high scores for Adult Social Care
Warwickshire’s Adult Social Care Services are “performing well” according to independent inspectors.
The ratings have been announced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the health and social care regulator for England. The CQC’s thorough annual assessment of Warwickshire County Council’s Adult Social Care Services found that the county continues to improve and maintain good standards.
In its report published today (Thursday 25th November), the regulator said that Warwickshire continues to ‘perform well’ across the board and has achieved ‘excellent’, the highest possible rating, in the two categories of ‘improved quality of life’ and ‘making a positive contribution’.
The commission said that the council is delivering good outcomes for Warwickshire residents including improved health and emotional wellbeing, increased choice and control of services, and ensuring freedom from discrimination and harassment. Praise was also given to the work that the council is doing to increase people’s economic wellbeing and maintaining personal dignity and respect.
The commission commended the council’s clear vision for its ‘transformation programme’ which is reshaping social care to better meet people’s needs and supporting people to lead independent lives.
Inspectors also noted the increased number of people taking ’self-directed support’ as a key strength. Self-directed support means that individuals are given a personal budget to buy the care they need and choose the kind of support that is right for them.
Research shows that older people receiving direct payments or personal budgets have improved quality of life and the council is encouraging even more people to take advantage of the initiative.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care at Warwickshire County Council, welcomed the progress outlined in the report and said: “Despite the current budgetary and demographic pressures, we continue to deliver quality services in Warwickshire and I am extremely proud of our performance ratings.”
Wendy Fabbro, Strategic Director of Adult, Health and Community Services at Warwickshire County Council, added: “This result reflects the many areas of excellent practice around the county and I would like to thank our staff, who made this possible.
"We are committed to making sure everything we do counts and we are deeply encouraged to see CQC’s recognition of our programme to transform social care.”