CQC rates Wokingham Borough Council’s adult social care provision as good
- Healthwatch Wokingham
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 16 hours ago
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Wokingham 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 – 3
Care provision, integration and continuity of care - 3
Partnership and communities – 4
Safe pathways, systems and transitions - 3
Safeguarding - 3
Governance, management and sustainability - 3
Learning, improvement and innovation - 4
James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said:
“At this assessment of Wokingham Borough Council, we found a local authority focused on supporting people to receive high quality care and helped them achieve their ambitions. The authority works consistently well with partners and local communities, and regularly innovated and improved services to positively impact people’s experiences.
“People told us staff supported them promptly and considered their individual needs and aspirations. Staff at all levels at Wokingham listened to people’s needs, feedback and concerns, and worked hard to understand how best to support them in achieving positive outcomes. They gave people with lived experience a clear and respected voice, which helped improve services and enhance people’s experiences.
“Most people didn’t wait long for assessments, and the authority worked hard to reduce this further. Staff regularly reviewed and assessed the risks people faced during this time to keep them safe. Wokingham had a range of services that staff could refer people to after initial contact, which helped people remain well while waiting.
“The authority understood the different communities in the area, and leaders were passionate about making sure people at risk of experiencing poorer outcomes received the right support. We found it encouraging to hear about their work with specific communities, particularly the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, the Hong Kong community, and people seeking asylum.
“Wokingham worked closely with partner organisations to help people receive consistent care. Their collaborative reablement project was jointly funded with health partners and supported people after they left hospital, which helped them return home sooner and regain their independence there.
“Leaders were committed to learning and improvement to help people achieve better outcomes. For example, the authority redesigned services and developed a specialist learning disability team in response to feedback from people using services.
“Leaders and staff at Wokingham should be delighted with the findings of our report, which show a local authority committed to getting people the right support.”
The assessment team found:
Leaders made sure staff had access to training and support which enhanced the care people received. Staff told inspectors leaders were compassionate and visible.
The authority made it easier for people to understand and access support by offering online and in-person spaces in local communities.
Staff made sure people could easily access technology enabled care, equipment and minor adaptations.
Leaders responded to challenges they identified in the care provision market. They identified concerns about the availability of dementia care, and invested in care homes as part of a strategy to address this issue and provide more choice for people.
The authority worked closely with a range of voluntary and community sector organisations to provide preventative support to people in their local communities
