Ms Jacqui Evans, Assistant Director, Unplanned Care / Community Care Market introduced her report, prepared jointly with Amanda Parry-Mateo - Integrated Lead, Quality and Safeguarding that outlined the measures being implemented to address the findings of the CQC report on its initial programme of comprehensive inspections in adult social care. The report informed that as CQC ratings can only be set by CQC, the local improvement plan would need to align with the next reporting cycle from CQC and as such this was a 3 year improvement program.

The Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was apprised that results from the programme of more than 33,000 inspections, showed almost four-fifths of adult social care services in England were rated as good (77%) or outstanding (2%) overall. Nearly a fifth of services were rated as requires improvement.

Whereas it is noted that there has been a continual improvement in the number of Good rated homes nationally, regionally and locally, Wirral as part of the North West region was identified as being in the bottom 20% of local authorities in relation to the quality of Care as rated by CQC.

Members were informed that key points in relation to the reported ratings and the challenges facing adult social care services, included:

• An ageing population with increasing needs. The number of people aged 85 or over in England was set to more than double over the next two decades. More than a third of people aged over 85 had difficulties undertaking five or more tasks of daily living without assistance, and were therefore most likely to need health and care services.

• Difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff to care for people. In 2015/16 the overall staff vacancy rate across the whole of the care sector was 6.8% (up from 4.5% in 2012/13), rising to 11.4% for home care staff. Turnover rates had risen from 22.7% to 27.3% a year over the same three-year period.

• Rising costs of adult social care. Findings from the most recent Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) budget survey had estimated that the National Living Wage would cost councils around £151 million plus at least £227.5 million in implementation and associated costs in 2017/18. This would affect both direct council costs and increased provider fees. 

The Assistant Director, Unplanned Care / Community Care Market further informed the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the domiciliary care market in Wirral had experienced significant change over the past year, with the impact of the loss of 3 larger providers still being felt. She added that currently demand outstrips supply, primarily as a result of the difficulty experienced in recruiting new care staff. Members were apprised of a range of actions and work underway to address the situation.

In drawing the discussion to a close, the Chair re-iterated the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s commitment to monitoring of the situation and visits to Wirral care provider facilities. The Chair encouraged Members to engage in such visits and future training opportunities wherever possible. 

Resolved – That the report be noted.