Council's adult care 'requires improvement' - CQC

Inspectors found staff were "passionate about serving local people"

A council's adult social care provision has been rated as "requires improvement" by a watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found six out of nine areas of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council's adult social care services showed "some shortfalls".

Concerns were raised about assessment wait times and difficulties accessing data, although the watchdog noted the service had a "great foundation" and was improving.

Councillor Catherine del Campo said the rating reflected the work the council was doing to deliver a good service despite increasing costs and demand.

The service received an overall score of 62% - 1% short of "good".

Inspectors found people were having to wait too long for a full assessment of their occupational therapy needs, with some waiting up to six months.

They also found staff could not always deliver "timely" annual care reviews.

There were difficulties in proactively identifying young carers, and limited access to data which meant the authority could not show how well it was meeting its public sector equality duty.

'Great foundation'

However, the CQC also found an above-average percentage of people using the service felt safe, and agreed they had control over their daily lives.

Staff were "passionate about serving local people" and there were "strong relationships" with local voluntary groups.

Inspectors also noted new initiatives were starting to produce results and leaders had a "good understanding" of where improvements were needed.

James Bullion, CQC's chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said the council had a "great foundation" in place to make improvements.

"We look forward to returning to see how they’ve done this and how their current plans mature," he said.

Ms Campo said: "The report sends the clear message is that our improvement plan is the right one and as transformation work becomes embedded in everyday practice, we strengthen our position going forwards."