'Excellent' rating for Salford's adult social care

This is an archived news story from June 2010

Vulnerable adults and older people in Salford are receiving 'excellent' care and are more likely to stay safe in their homes for longer, with a better quality of life, national inspectors have found.

A report from the Care Quality Commission, which regulates and monitors the quality of adult social care and health services, shows that Salford City Council is continuing to provide some of the best care in the country with 'excellent' prospects to improve.

Salford is one of only a few authorities in the country to have achieved this level of performance for its protection of vulnerable adults.

It also concludes that Salford is supporting more people to remain in their own homes than in other areas in the North West.

For five years running Salford has sustained its overall excellent rating from the independent regulator, but the recent inspection judgement means that this area has improved from 'performing well' to being 'excellent'.

The inspection was carried out in March but publication was delayed because of the election.

It is the first time the council's adult safeguarding services has been directly inspected.

The last inspection from the independent inspection body was in 2007 and focused on learning difficulty services.

It focused on two areas; the care provided to vulnerable adults for which it was rated "excellent"; and improving the quality of life of older people, where the city council "performs well".

The Commission praised the council for its work to provide a broad range of services and information to help people stay safe in their homes, and has formed a robust and effective Adult Safeguarding Board with an independent chair.

It highlights the processes put in place to review services for older people as an area where Salford is doing well and says Salford has excellent prospects to improve further.

It found good working relationships with NHS Salford and other partners to provide vulnerable and older people with services to prevent admission to hospital and residential care.

It said social workers were 'enthusiastic about the opportunities they had to create support packages which recognise individuals’ preferences and enable them to pursue their own chosen activities'.

Looking to the future, the commission recognised that Salford has a 'clear vision for social care in the city', it is 'leading change ', and 'offers many ways for residents from all communities in the city to get involved in transforming services.'

Leader of the council, Councillor John Merry, said: "This report is an independent verdict on essential services that are relied upon and appreciated by those who use them.

"We've not only been inspected by independent experts but by people who know what it's like to need a service.

"We're helping more older people to stay in their homes independently and our adult social services are not only among the best in the country, they also have a promising future.

"We invest in our staff as we recognise they are the front line of any service. This part of the council has achieved Investors In People champion status and recognises the value of the workforce to make sure there was active involvement of people in their own care.

"And, if the time comes when someone does need extra help, we work with our partners to offer quality services that support individual needs.

"We listen very hard to what local people want and have responded by developing services to help people maintain a good quality of life and the commission's 'excellent' rating of our services shows that we're getting it right."

For more information visit the Care Quality Commission, or the report is also available here.