London,
02
December
2009
|
23:00
Europe/London

Excellent! Hackney s top-rated adult social care

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has awarded Hackney Council an overall ‘excellent’ rating for its adult social care services.

Watch some of Hackney’s excellent-rated services in action here: www.hackney.gov.uk/trasc-movie - including popular soca aerobics classes, and free swimming and swimming lessons for the over-60s at Council leisure centres.

This is a far cry from 2002, when the Council provided a one-star-rated service with an uncertain capacity to improve. During the past few years the Council has only narrowly missed achieving excellent status, however.

This year the Council was judged to be excellent in five out of seven categories, including in improved health and wellbeing, and improved quality of life. Preventive services to keep people healthy and independent were rated as excellent.

This is part of how the Council is transforming its adult social care services, with savings achieved from effective preventive and re-ablement work through a reduction in complex care packages. The CQC inspectors highlighted the Council s rehabilitative support back to health, citing that over half of residents making use of these services afterwards did not require an ongoing service.

Services for carers, including the Carers Card which offers discounts at local shops and leisure facilities, were also praised for their breadth and innovation. The inspectors were also impressed by a wide variety of schemes for carers, as well as people with learning disabilities and those with mental health issues to be supported into work and training.

To best meet the challenge of the Council’s transformation of adult social care agenda, the Community Services directorate programme team has been restructured, while consultation is also being carried with stakeholders. Each assistant director now sponsors one of several projects.

Cllr Nargis Khan, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “I am delighted this inspection has recognised that Hackney is providing a very high standard of adult social care for residents and we are determined to continue working with service users, carers and partners to make it even better.”