Council’s adult social care provision upgraded to ‘Good’ by CQC

The revised grading, published today (6 Feb), follows a successful challenge by Swindon Borough Council of the health watchdog’s initial assessment of adult social care published last October, which originally judged it one point below a ‘Good’ rating.

Following a review of the inspection outcome, which included an independent review by a senior CQC member of staff who was not involved in the original assessment, the Council was graded as ‘Good’ in the majority of the nine quality statements the CQC bases its judgements on.

During the review, the Council’s quality statement regarding governance and leadership was upgraded, which saw it achieve ‘Good’ scores in five of the categories.

The CQC visited the local authority last March to assess the adult social care services it provides to local residents. It was the Council’s first inspection under the new regulatory framework.

Councillor Ray Ballman, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “This regrading of our adult social care provision is testament to the collective resilience, leadership and commitment of our staff, who work so hard to support some of the most vulnerable people in Swindon.

“I’d like to thank them for everything they do for our residents, often going the extra mile to make a real difference to their lives.”

The Council’s adult social care provision covers a wide range of support to help people who are older, or living with a disability or physical or mental illness, live independently and stay well.

Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said he was immensely proud of the work colleagues in adult social care were doing and recently visited a day care provision at The Ridings in Rodbourne Cheney.

The Ridings, a sheltered housing scheme, is home to a 30-place day centre run by First City Nursing Services on behalf of the Council, which provides support and social activities (like bingo, gardening, outings) for older adults.

Cllr Robbins said: “This is brilliant news for all our colleagues in adult social care and for the Council as a whole.

“We were extremely disappointed to originally miss out on a ‘Good’ grading by the narrowest of margins, which is why we asked for the review. I’d like to thank the CQC for allowing us to make that challenge and for carrying out a robust independent review. This will make a huge difference to everyone working in the department.

“Adult social care provides support many of us hope we will never have to rely on but, having seen for myself the warmth and dedication shown by colleagues to those that need our help, it fills me with great pride.”