CQC Rates East Riding Adult Social Care as 'Inadequate' After Critical Inspection

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated East Riding of Yorkshire Council's adult social care services as ‘Inadequate’ following a national series of inspections conducted in June.

The assessment, published last week, highlights significant concerns regarding the timeliness of support and access to critical services across the county.

While inspectors found no evidence to suggest that individuals were unsafe, the inspection revealed widespread delays in accessing care and the time residents wait for essential assessments and support.

Delays Impacting Residents

Councillor Jonathan Owen, cabinet member for adult social care and health at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the result.

“Back in June, we had the first of a national series of inspections by the Care Quality Commission looking at how our adult services perform, but particularly how ourselves corporately and our partners fulfil our duties under what's called the Care Act.

I was deeply disappointed with the results, which for the council came out as as being classed as inadequate. Now, that's not good enough.

This wasn't an inspection of our in-house services, our own residential care, which already are either good or outstanding.

One of the big issues was that there are too many delays for people that aren't prioritized as high risk. We realize that some residents are waiting far too long to be assessed.”

The inspection determined that many people experienced waits for reviews, assessments, and equipment assessments. For those not rated as high risk, these delays were noted as a major concern. The council acknowledged that these lengthy waits are "unacceptable".

The assessment report highlighted that residents living in rural areas of the East Riding were particularly likely to experience significant delays to their care. The East Riding, which includes extensive coastal and rural communities, faces challenges related to geography and provider capacity. The report also noted pockets of higher deprivation exist in areas such as Bridlington.

The geographical challenges appear to exacerbate capacity issues, especially in more rural areas, leading to inconsistent improvements for people depending on where they live. In some severe cases, capacity problems meant that people who could have returned home after a hospital stay were unable to, resulting in extended stays in residential care.

Commitment to Rapid Improvement

Despite the critical finding, the council and its leaders have committed to rapid action. Alan Menzies, interim chief executive of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, stated that the findings are being taken "extremely seriously".

Mr Menzies assured the public:

“We take the findings of this inspection extremely seriously.

People in the East Riding deserve timely, high-quality care and support, and we have already started making the necessary changes to ensure this happens.

While the dedication of our staff is evident and highlighted in this report. We acknowledge as a council we must do better. We are already taking steps to reduce waiting times, strengthen leadership, and improve how we work with individuals to ensure that our care services meet their needs.”

The council further noted that the new executive director of adult social care, Kim Curry, is expected to bring stability and have a "significant positive effect on culture, strategy and outcome".

Councillor Owen expressed determination to use the findings to drive change:

“This result, although I wasn't pleased with it, has actually stimulated myself to work closely now with our great team of officers in adult social care and hopefully over the next year and 18 months make some real real improvements.

The message I want to give particularly to all our residents and their families or their carers is that we'll do our utmost to make very very rapid change here to give the services I know our residents want and deserve.

Already we have an improvement plan in place and we look forward to when the inspectors come back sooner, we hope, rather than later to see the improvements we think we're already making.”

An improvement plan has already been implemented and will be overseen by an independent improvement partner. Key areas of focus for the council include reducing waiting times for assessments and reviews, and strengthening management oversight. The council is also increasing the involvement of service users and their families in shaping the improvement journey.

Kay Durrant, Independent Chair of the East Riding Safeguarding Adults Board, expressed confidence in the leadership’s commitment, stating:

“I have reviewed the inspection report and discussed the council’s response. I am confident that the leadership team is committed to addressing the concerns raised and that the board will support the improvement plan to ensure vulnerable adults are protected and supported.”.

The council acknowledged the challenge of growing demand, noting that the East Riding has a higher proportion of the population aged over 65 compared to the England average. While funding pressures remain a challenge, the council stated these issues "do not excuse delays or ineffective processes".