How are we performing? At the Adult Care services and overview and scrutiny committee on the 9th January 2008 the Director of Adult Social services informed the committee of the outcome of the Commission for Social Care Inspection's (CSCI) Annual Assessment of the Council's performance on delivering social care services to adults. This wide ranging report on council services for elderly people and adults with disabilities says staff are acting quickly to identify individual needs and switch on new care arrangements. The achievement follows the launch of a new access team which provides a single point of contact for people seeking advice or assistance. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) also found that older people with high-level needs were being successfully supported in their own home with the result that fewer were being placed into residential care. The more independent elderly were also benefiting from a new approach to daytime activities which was encouraging them to take advantage of a variety of different leisure opportunities through the 'active days' programme. There was also praise for the council's work with carers. This included more training and support and a better understanding of their needs. The report examined all aspects of the adult social services department's work with vulnerable residents. It found that the council was widening leisure and employment opportunities for all people using social services including carers. Partnership working with the local NHS was strong and a single improvement plan for mental health services was being monitored jointly by the chief executives from all three organisations concerned. A new mental health team had been developed to provide better coordination and improved access to services. Staff had prepared well for the implementation of new assessment procedures for older people with lower care needs. The council is increasing the budget for adult social services in 2008 and is committing more resources to support and preventative services in the voluntary sector. The report highlighted the importance of continuing to track the impact of raising the eligibility criteria for social services and the effect on people with lower needs It also said the council should continue to speed up the pace at which care assessments were made. Executive member for adult social services Vanessa Graham said: The council is committed to ensuring it has the right amount of resources available to meet the needs of the borough's most vulnerable residents. At the same time we are developing new approaches that will allow those who are more independent to have a much greater degree of control and choice in their day-to-day life. The report is extremely helpful in identifying where progress is being made as well as those areas where more work is needed. Its conclusions are immensely encouraging to everyone involved in the care of vulnerable adults in our community. Overall the CSCI performance assessment confirmed that the council was making steady progress to improve and modernise its services with a strong political commitment to meeting the care needs of vulnerable adults. The council was judged as 'good' in delivering services and 'promising' in its capacity to improve. Committee report - Paper No. 08-69
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