Leicester's adult social care 'needs to improve'

Adult social care and support in Leicester requires improvement, according to a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

Leicester City Council's services were assessed by the regulator across nine areas to see how well the authority was meeting its responsibilities, with concerns raised over waiting times and communication.

The CQC said it found evidence of "some shortfalls" in seven of the nine assessment areas, with the other two areas given a "good standard" rating.

The city council said the report showed its "substantial capacity and demand pressures" but that the authority was "effective at prioritising urgent support to people" and was "achieving good, individual outcomes for many people".

The council's responsibilities include promoting the wellbeing and independence of working age disabled adults, older people, and their unpaid carers to reduce their need for formal support where appropriate.

In 2023-24, the council spent £172.5m on adult social care - 22.89% of the total budget - which was £15.3m less than estimated.

The report said some people found there was a lack of face-to-face support with some assessments having been conducted entirely over the telephone, and navigating the council's system was described as "challenging".

People experienced language barriers, "which prevented people's access to care and support", the report said.

It said online information in non-English languages was "not easily accessible", which posed a challenge for the portion of Leicester's residents whose main language was not English.

Data regarding waits for reviews for people in the city receiving long-term care was also significantly worse than the England average, according to the report.

For example, at the time of the assessment, the CQC found there were 903 people waiting for an occupational therapy assessment, with a median wait time of 220 days and the longest reported waiting time being 815 days.

James Bullion, the CQC's chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said: "The authority acted promptly when needed, including providing responses within two hours, for same day care, and reviewing care after changes.

"But people still faced long waits for assessments and regular reviews. Their communication during these waiting periods was limited."

The assessment team found the authority failed to properly support unpaid carers to make choices during their assessment.

However, the regulator said it found people did not have to wait long for residential, nursing or homecare support, and the authority "worked closely with people with lived experience to shape services".

Laurence Mackie-Jones, the city council's strategic director of social care, said: "We don't think this assessment fully reflects the challenges we face in Leicester, or the strengths that exist despite these challenges.

"We're pleased it recognises the work we do to help people to live independent lives, as that is a key priority for us.

"Helping people to stay in their homes, taking advantage of the technology that can help them, and accessing direct payments for the support they need is vital in a hugely under-funded care system.

"We're also very proud of the fact that 85-90% of people agree or strongly agree that the support we provide helps them to live their life, as noted in the CQC report."

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