South Gloucestershire Council has received a good rating for its work with vulnerable adults and older people in an independent inspection report.
Following the recent assessment by Care Quality Commission inspectors, the council was judged as performing well in all the key areas with a promising capacity for further improvement.
Cllr Matthew Riddle, executive member for community care and housing, said: “This is an excellent result for the adult safeguarding team and is recognition of the hard work that the council puts in to caring for and keeping safe vulnerable and older people in South Gloucestershire.”
The key areas assessed were:
- Safeguarding adults whose circumstances made them vulnerable
- Improving health and wellbeing for older people
- Improving quality of life for older people
The inspectors said that the council “showed a strong commitment to reducing levels of domestic violence” and “took prompt action to minimise risks and keep vulnerable people safe.” They also praised the council’s efforts to drive up the quality of services and how the council has streamlined its processes.
The report also praised the council’s work with older people. The inspectors said that the council “supported a good range of initiatives that helped to promote the health and wellbeing of older people” and had “established an effective scheme which was helping older people to access a wide range of services.”
The council’s capacity to improve its performance was also noted by the report which stated that the council “works hard to engage with local residents” and “gives careful consideration to resource planning and value for money.”
A few areas were highlighted for development, including engaging more widely with partners in jointly planning and developing services and to strengthen annual reporting.
We at DoCare have been working as partners to South Glos Council for the last two years by providing help and support to older people in their own homes. Our experience is that they work well with contracted providers, sharing information needed to plan and develop services together. The community benefits from having such enlightened leadership which is to be applauded, particularly in these days when it is so easy to crtiticse the work of our public servants.