Council's adult care services require improvement
BBCAdult care services at Cumberland Council require improvement, the health watchdog has said.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that people waited too long for occupational therapy assessments, limited access to specialist support for those with mental health needs, and staffing pressures.
However, its inspection also found the authority worked well with health partners to support people's independence and a "genuine commitment" to person-centred care.
The council said it had already made improvements, including strengthened support for unpaid carers, and would enhance other services such as safeguarding and waiting times.
The CQC looked at nine areas to assess how well the authority was meeting its responsibilities, and eight were given scores of two out of four, meaning improvements were needed.
Staffing pressures meant services often had to use agency staff who were not always local and did not know the area, inspectors found.
Additionally, the rural nature of the area created challenges for some people accessing home care support.
People were not always provided with access to information in a way convenient for them, such as easy-read formats, and it was sometimes difficult to access a British Sign Language interpreter, as there were only three being used in the area.
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.
"We'll continue to monitor progress and look forward to seeing how their future plans mature."
Cumberland Council said it was proud of the progress its teams had made since the local government reorganisation in 2023.
There were also a number of positive developments, highlighted by the CQC, such as high levels of satisfaction among those receiving care, and visible and accessible leadership.
Councillor Lisa Hinton, executive member for adult social care, said: "Our improvement journey shows how far we've come, and we are committed to working closely with people across Cumberland to deliver high-quality, compassionate, and person-centred adult social care now and into the future."
