Thousands of Plymouth residents who rely on adult social care are benefitting from compassionate, high-quality support and now that work has been officially recognised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with inspectors praising the city’s commitment to equity, partnership working, and improving lives.
Plymouth City Council has received a ‘good’ rating from the CQC following an assessment earlier this year.
The Council, which works in partnership with commissioned providers and the voluntary sector to deliver adult social care services to more than 5,300 people across the city, was found to have delivered an overall good standard of care and support.
The Council also received an exceptional rating for equity in experience and outcomes, and a good rating in areas including: supporting people to live healthier lives, partnerships and communities, governance, management and sustainability and learning, improvement and innovation.
CQC inspectors visited Plymouth in June this year to meet with adult social care staff and to seek views from adults who receive support in Plymouth, and their families.
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “We’re delighted to have received a ‘good’ rating and it is testament to the strength of our partnership working and dedicated staff at the Council, Livewell Southwest, all our commissioned providers and the local voluntary sector, who work incredibly hard every day to support our residents.
“Our ambition is for Plymouth to be a great place to grow up and to grow old, and adult social care has a hugely important role to play in this by ensuring that all adults are safe, cared for and well supported.”
Livewell Southwest is commissioned to deliver adult social care assessments in Plymouth.
Michelle Thomas, Chief Executive of Livewell Southwest said: “Livewell became one of the first integrated community health and social care providers back in 2015. This was a forward-thinking move at the time to bring together physical, mental health and social care, so that a person’s whole health and care need can be considered.
“For that reason, we were particularly pleased to see the CQC acknowledge ‘a strong inclusive and positive culture of continuous learning and improvement’. Our staff work hard collectively to never stand still when it comes to developing the best possible service for the city.”
The report notes key strengths including partnership and integration, with partners found to be ‘overwhelmingly positive about working with the local authority and the impact of this’, which helps to ensure better outcomes for residents.
Inspectors noted that Plymouth is a ‘diverse city with a number of initiatives happening to make it inclusive for everybody, with the mantra of ‘no one will be left behind’’. The Council and health providers’ commitment to reducing inequalities and barriers to care was highlighted, with a wide range of support on offer targeted at different communities.
Plymouth also received positive feedback about its support for unpaid carers, particularly around staff support and timely, person-centred assessments.
The CQC did find some areas that need further improvements, including annual reviews, the timelines of social care assessments and transitions between children’s and adults’ social care.
Gary Walbridge, Strategic Director for Adults, Health and Communities at Plymouth City Council, said: “We’re really proud to have received a good outcome from our assessment, which has highlighted areas where our work across the city is really strong, particularly our relationship with partner organisations and our commitment to ensuring that residents who may experience inequality receive the tailored care and support that they need.
“However, we acknowledge there are areas that require further improvement and the report has also helped highlight where we need to do more to ensure that everyone gets the same standard of care. We will, with our partners, be focusing on addressing these to ensure that all our residents receive a good level of care.”
This assessment is a new responsibility for the CQC and the first Plymouth has received of this kind.
The full report is available on the CQC website.
