Adult social care service 'requires improvement'

People are not consistently receiving the support they need from adult social care at North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors found the service required improvement, with concerns around inconsistent safeguarding, long waiting times and delays to assessments and reviews.

However, the report said the authority had a "gold standard" hospital discharge process and praised telephone support for giving "clear and timely advice".

Responding to the report, NELC said work to tackle issues and improvements was "already underway".

Inspectors carried out the assessment of the service in August 2025.

The CQC found some staff were not sure about how to raise concerns and care organisations said there was a lack of detail when NELC requested support.

Data also showed less than half of people who had received short-term support no longer required ongoing care which is "significantly" lower than the national average.

Despite some concerns, the CQC praised NELC for increasing the number of inpatient rehabilitation beds, which had helped to "reduce hospital stays".

It also found the authority "actively gained feedback" which helped to improve its services.

Chris Badger, CQC's chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said: "While we saw strong partnership working and genuine commitment to person-centred care, the local authority does have further work to do to ensure people are consistently receiving the support they need."

The CQC said it would "continue to monitor" NELC's progress on addressing the issues identified.

Councillor Stan Streeve, deputy leader of NELC and portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and adult social care, said the authority was "determined to move forward".

"We are working hard against a backdrop of significant challenges and that was recognised," he said.

"Two Grimsby housing areas – the East and West Marsh - fall within the most deprived 1% nationally with healthy life expectancy just 55 years old for males and 58 for females.

"As the report recognises, some areas for improvement that were highlighted are being tackled and we are confident they can be overcome."

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