Sefton Council landed one of the top marks in the North West for its Adult Social Care service with inspectors praising its staff for being ‘knowledgeable, compassionate and caring’.
The authority, which has more than 7,000 residents accessing Adult Social Care services, received a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in its report that was published today.
The inspectors highlighted effective relationships with partners, a strong thread of co-production throughout and praised Sefton for having a clear vision of helping people to live independently for longer in their own home.
Councillor Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “This is a fantastic recognition of the tireless work taking place every day across Adult Social Care in Sefton. It reflects our clear focus on improving lives and working hand in hand with our communities, partners and our incredible staff.
The report shows that people not only value the support they receive, but also the culture of care, dignity and respect that underpins everything we do.”
The report, which was written after a week-long visit to Sefton where inspectors spoke to hundreds of people, picked out a new conversational model the Adult Social Care service is piloting with residents as providing an ‘overwhelmingly positive experience’ and said there was a ‘strong thread of co-production’ throughout that meant people were able to influence the services they were using.
The CQC praised Sefton’s partnership with NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, highlighting a place-based approach to joined-up working, as well as efforts to reshape the care market with a focus on helping people live independently for longer.
“We have put a real focus on working with care providers and people who access the services to make sure we are delivering the support that is needed, and it was brilliant to see this come through loud and clear as a success in the report,” said Councillor Moncur.
“This is not just about us – this is a positive report for all the partners and residents we work with and gives us really good feedback on areas we can improve upon, with an ambition to work towards achieving an ‘outstanding’ judgement next time.
Deborah Butcher, Executive Director of Adult Social Care, Health & Wellbeing, said: “I am hugely proud of our social care team in Sefton and the work staff, our care providers and partner organisations do every day to support our Sefton residents. This report is a testament to our partnership working across the Council and our partner organisations. The report gives us a foundation to build on.
“CQC recognise that our staff enjoy working for Sefton Council and feel valued and motivated. This is something that is really important to us and reflects the quality of our workforce and the culture in Sefton.”
The CQC Inspection Report is available to read on the CQCs website at Sefton Council: local authority assessment.