Westminster’s Adult Social Care Service earns positive recognition in CQC report

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Westminster City Council’s Adult Social Care Service has received a “Good” rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This is testament to the important work of council staff who are committed to delivering safe and high-quality outcomes for our residents.

As part of the assessment process CQC interviewed partners in the NHS and voluntary sector as well as staff in other departments across the Council. The CQC team also spoke to a number of residents to hear about their experience of Adult Social Care in the Borough. A thorough onsite inspection was carried out from 17-19 June 2024, where the CQC spoke with council staff, members of the local account group (made up of residents), councillors, leaders, commissioned providers and health partners.

The report outlines many strengths for Adult Social Care in Westminster including the council’s commitment towards delivering a service that is co-designed by service users and unpaid carers.

The Local Account Group, a group of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea residents and service users, told the CQC that unpaid carers and service users felt listened to and empowered to influence policy and services that are delivered by the Council.

Staff also felt listened to and trusted by senior leaders to make decisions, with the report describing the service’s leadership as visible, capable and compassionate.

The report states that social care staff demonstrated a person-centred approach during assessment and support planning. This was evidenced by the success of the reablement provision which showed that over 90% of people who received short-term support no longer required ongoing care.

Safeguarding Adults was noted a particular strength. The report commends the Council's multi-agency approach to identifying and removing obstacles that might prevent people from accessing safeguarding services including language barriers. By working with local partners to meet community needs, we were able to support people to access information, including clarity on what “being safe” means to them and how to raise concerns when they did not feel safe.

Another strength highlighted was the council's mission to reduce inequalities both within our workforce and in the wider care workforce market. Inequalities were addressed through removing gender and ethnicity pay gaps and using data insight from the Homecare Transformation Programme to increase carers pay by £1.50 per hour, keeping it above the London Living Wage.

The pay increase has had a positive impact on staff retention in our homecare agencies, which in turn has benefited on the continuous care and support given to residents in our care service.

Local Account Group Member, Gary said:

“As a Westminster resident and member of the Local Account Group, it was a pleasure to be part of the assessment process. I’m really pleased that the work we do on behalf of residents has been recognised by the Care Quality Commission and that we have played a role in the department achieving a Good assessment outcome.”

Bi-Borough Principal Social Worker, Charlotte Henshaw said:

“I am thrilled with the outcome of our CQC Assessment. It’s all thanks to our dedicated workforce who carry out invaluable work with our residents and partners each day. Everybody who spoke with the CQC Assessment team did a brilliant job of articulating the important work that we do.”

Deputy Chief Executive and Bi-Borough Executive Director of Adult Social Care, Bernie Flaherty said:

“We are proud to deliver a service where staff feel heard, trusted to make decisions, and provide excellent care for our residents. Equally, we take in pride in delivering care where service users feel confident to voice their opinions and shape the work that we do.”  

“This report not only highlights the significant achievements the service has made, but also outlines important next steps that we look forward to taking, as we continue to enhance further the quality of care we provide.”

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Voluntary Sector, Cllr Nafsika Butler-Thalassis said:

“The CQC inspection result stands as a reflection of our unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes for our service users. This success is a collaborative triumph, co-produced alongside service users, their carers, and our partners within the community.”

“Achieving such a high score is a great source of pride for the council, and we can assure you that we will continue to deliver our Adult Social Care services with residents’ and carers’ voices at the heart of what we do”