Council told to improve social care waiting times
PA MediaA council has been told to improve the time it takes to allocate social workers and provide occupational therapy assessments.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Westmorland and Furness Council as "requires improvement" but said it was not far off being rated "good" in its responsibility to ensure people had access to adult social care and support.
Inspectors said people did not always receive support in a timely way which "could lead to them deteriorating".
The Liberal Democrat-led council told inspectors its rural and ageing population presented a "significant challenge" but said a "huge amount of progress" had already been made since the inspection nearly eight months ago.
Cabinet member for adults, health and care Patricia Bell said it had halved the number of people waiting for a social work or occupational therapy assessment - where home adaptations to support independence are looked at - since the inspection.
"On waiting times, I would like to reassure residents that we prioritise and schedule our assessments carefully at first contact," she said.
"If anyone is going to be waiting longer than their agreed date they are contacted again to ensure they can safely wait a little longer."
Rural challenges
In its first assessment of the new council since it was formed in 2023, the CQC said it had "strong leaders who were aware of the challenges they faced".
The council scored 62 out of 100 points, which was one point away from being rated "good" overall.
It is the third largest unitary authority area in England and the most sparsely populated, the council said.
"It costs more and is a greater challenge to provide adult social care support across such a large rural area," it said.
Inspectors found initiatives which addressed this including social care apprenticeships that had learning to drive embedded in the offer.
One in four residents is aged 65 and over, with that projected to rise to one in three by 2040, the council said.
The local authority said its improvement plan included supporting people to be "as independent as possible for as long as possible" to better manage demand and costs.
Staff told inspectors they had been speaking with housing associations about creating more accessible bungalows, and remodelling current housing stock to make it more suitable for the future needs of the population.
