Adult Health and Social Care services latest position

Councillor Angela Argenzio, Chair of Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee

Adult Health and Social Care services are under pressure and Sheffield City Council is continuing to closely monitor the impact of the challenges it faces and the performance of its adult social care services.

The Council is committed to providing the best services that it can to help people live safely and independently in their own homes.

Against a backdrop of increased need locally and reductions in Government funding, most adult social care services are doing well, and others are improving in the right direction to meet the standards that Adult Social Care has set out to achieve in its agreed action plan.

Councillor Angela Argenzio, Chair of the Adult Health and Social Care Committee, said: “We know that we must meet the needs of those who need care and support from Adult Social Care, it’s not easy, and we are determined to do the best that we can with the resources we have. We are working smarter and working harder on areas where we are performing less well than in other areas. The progress we are making is reassuring and the regular monitoring will help us to focus on the right areas. We are grateful to everyone in the city who is providing adult social care services every day, in whatever capacity. You are making an enormous difference to people’s lives in Sheffield.”

The regular reporting demonstrates to Sheffield residents how impact is being measured to reassure residents about what the Council is doing to help citizens of Sheffield to Live the life you want to live.

The December report sets out a clear plan from now up until 2030 and highlights the current key strengths in Adult Social Care services. The Council has:

• Increased homecare and care home staff, has a low rate of home care waits and 8.5 out of 10 Care Homes and Community providers are rated as good or excellent.
• Referred an increasing number of unpaid carers to the Sheffield Carers Centre to ensure carers receive the support they require in their caring role.
• Seen improvements to carers experiences and positive satisfaction levels through Sheffield Carers Centre reports.
• Increased the number of annual reviews which ensure the support people receive continues to meet their needs and has also reduced assessment waiting times.
• Continued to provide more short-term interventions to help people live independently in their own homes and avoid the need for long term support when discharged from hospital.

As part of this work, the Council is focusing on delivery of outcomes and working in partnership with individuals, carers, colleagues, and partners to achieve positive experiences for the citizens of Sheffield.

Over the next 6 months the Council will be focussing on making sure that:

• 95% safeguarding contacts are screened in one day and Safeguarding Enquiries are completed in 20 days on a sustained basis.
• Individuals do not have to wait longer than 2 weeks for an occupational Therapy assessment.
• Individuals do not wait longer than 2 weeks for social work assessment.

The report also highlights how the Council is continuing to focus on:

• Making sure that more people receiving long term support experience continuity of support and care.
• Engaging with citizens, families, and carers at the centre of driving change.
• Supporting wellbeing outcomes and access to employment and learning for people with a Learning Disability, Autistic People and People Experiencing Mental Ill Health.
• Increasing opportunities for people to live locally and with that reduce Out of Area placements through a partnership approach locally and across Sheffield to build accommodation with care and support.
• Improved experiences and satisfaction with Adult Social Care Services, through its approach to working together and learning from complaints, compliments and feedback from individuals and carers as well as from internal staff and partners.

The full committee report is here.