Adult social care peer review results to be presented to cabinet
The results of a peer review looking at the performance of adult social care services in Birmingham will be presented to cabinet.
The review by the West Midlands Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) took place in February this year and looked at service provision and transformation, what is working well and what needs improvement.
The review found strong working between children’s and adults’ services within the People Directorate, and strong working with partners. The hospital social work service was found to be focussed and last year won a national award. Service users felt they were listened to.
Areas that needed to be looked at included the savings required, the personalisation agenda, and commissioning.
The review team was extremely positive about their experiences in Birmingham; they highlighted areas of best practice along with other areas for consideration.
They presented a high level overview of their findings, which includes:
• The loyalty of the staff is consistently high across all levels.
• The Quality Boards are seen as very positive by service users.
• Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) said that senior relationships are good with the directorate.
• Providers stated that the interaction with commissioners is good and there is robust contract management. They felt the relationship was better than with other councils. The quality ratings are generally welcomed by providers.
• There is a strong hospital service committed to discharging people safely and appropriately.
• The Leader and the Cabinet Member are very supportive of and informed on adult social care and understand the risks on savings.
Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “It is vital that we have independent oversight and are challenged where necessary by people who understand the difficulties of providing a complex service within tight budget constraints.
“I am pleased to see that the review team’s findings were so positive and we will look to continue building on this success. Of course, we are not complacent and recognise that there are still some areas where there is room for improvement, but I am confident that we are moving in the right direction.”
Peter Hay, strategic director for people, said: “The peer review shows that Birmingham is feeling the pressure from significant reductions in budget. Although it has met these challenges well, it is clear that some very tough challenges in re-providing services and moving to more personal budgets will test it further at a point where there is growing concern from user and carers.”
The report will be presented to cabinet on Monday, March 16.
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