Adult social care improving, watchdog says

Adult social care in a Merseyside borough remains in need of improvement despite having its rating upgraded by inspectors.

The department at Wirral Council has been graded "good", up from "requires improvement".

But inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it was still difficult for people with disabilities or who struggled with English to access information, and that the council did not leave enough time to make sure plans were in place for people moving from child to adult social care.

Wirral Council's director for adults, health and strategic commissioning, Sayyed Osman, said the good rating reflected "years of hard work" but that the council was "not complacent".

In other areas, the council was found to be working at a "good standard" and was said to be providing a good experience of accessing care and support for most people.

Mary Cridge, CQC director of adult social care and local authority assessments, said the authority was "using information more effectively to shape services around people's current and future needs, as well as responding to challenges around capacity".

She added this included increasing extra-care housing for people who were autistic or had other needs, and that the council had reduced waiting times for assessments.

"Leaders and staff should be pleased with the positive findings in this report. They are aware of areas where improvements are needed and already had many plans in place to address these. We look forward to seeing how these plans progress," she said.

Sue Powell-Wilde, chair of the council's adult social care and public health (ASCPH) committee said: "This rating demonstrates that, despite increasing demand and significant challenges facing the care sector nationally, Wirral continues to place people at the heart of its services."

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