Social care regulator says LB Ealing’s care provision “requires improvement” despite budget overspend

Image: Ealing Council offices

Service provision comes up lacking despite extra £10 million spent on adult social care

The London Borough of Ealing has been rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ in a recent assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which has highlighted significant challenges in service delivery, financial management, and safeguarding.

The report, published on Friday (17 January) revealed widespread issues across several key areas, including assessing needs, governance, safeguarding, and care provision. Each of these areas scored just two out of five.

“People and their carers gave us mixed feedback of their experiences of local authority care and support services,” the report noted, adding that “some said it was difficult to get in touch with the local authority” and that “the website was difficult to navigate.”

Residents and carers reported mixed experiences with council services. Many noted delays in accessing assessments and support, particularly in adult social care, where median waiting times for Care Act assessments reached 17 weeks.

Waiting lists for occupational therapy assessments are also a concern as there are over 700 people reportedly awaiting support. The CQC observed that: “delays meant some people’s needs got worse while waiting for assessment and suitable support to be provided.”

Ealing Council significantly overspent in the 2022/23 financial year, the time period which the report covers, exceeding its estimated budget by nearly £60 million.

Adult social care alone accounted for over £10 million of this overspend, despite the Council raising the full adult social care precept for 2023/24. The CQC noted that while the council’s efforts to manage demand were evident, “financial pressures were straining resources and service quality.”

Image: Care home residents; Library image

Credit where credit is due

Many carers reported difficulty in accessing longer-term support, and there were concerns about delayed equipment provision for individuals requiring home adaptations.

Despite these criticisms, some residents praised specific services, such as re-ablement support and the ‘Community Champions’ programme, which helps to bridge gaps in health and wellbeing. According to the report:

“young people moving to adults’ services and people coming out of hospital were generally positive about their support.”

The report acknowledged some positive steps taken by the Council, including the establishment of initiatives like the ‘Better Lives’ review panel and a ‘Community Connectors’ programme aimed at strengthening ties with voluntary organisations.

Efforts to improve monitoring, governance, and co-production with residents were also commended, though the CQC noted these measures are still in early stages.

James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said of the findings:

“At this assessment, we found the London Borough of Ealing were committed to inclusivity and innovation, with clear strategies aimed at addressing inequalities and improving outcomes for all residents.

“Ealing’s reablement services, which help people to remain independent, provide effective care and achieve significant results. However, significant delays in assessments, as well as accessing care and support, remain key challenges.”

Ealing Council “confident” they “will continue to build quality adult social care services ” 

Cllr Polly Knewstub

Ealing Council have committed to addressing these issues and plans to increase staffing resources, enhance training, and bolster collaboration with NHS and community partners.

The scale of the improvements required raises questions about whether these measures will be enough to meet the needs of the borough’s growing and diverse population.

In a statement released in response to the CQC report, Councillor Polly Knewstub, Ealing Council cabinet member for healthy equal lives said:

“We are very proud of the work our adult social care staff do every day and the passion they have in supporting the communities we serve in Ealing. We are incredibly disappointed by the outcome of this new inspection process and do not believe it reflects the quality of our services, or the experience of the residents that use them.

“While we know our strengths, we are also really ambitious and driven to continually make our services better; to find new ways to connect communities and give people in Ealing more choice and control over how they meet their social care needs.

“Ealing Council has a strong track record of opening our doors to external partners inviting them to provide challenge and help us improve how we support local communities but sadly this CQC report provides limited feedback about specific changes to our services or the way we work.

“In contrast, our recent Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Review in January 2023 led to really useful opportunities for learning. We will be asking them to come back and review our progress and help us identify any further areas for improvement.

“The inspectors identified a range of strengths including our effective partnership arrangements, safeguarding of vulnerable people, our person-centred approach considering their individual and cultural needs, our support for carers and our ambition to reduce inequality.

“I was really pleased to see that they recognised social care staff who are proud to care for the people of Ealing, they are committed, knowledgeable and that there is a positive culture of learning and innovation; something I see every day from our brilliant adult social care teams.

“While this rating is disappointing, we have every confidence that our plans and our approach, working with our communities, will continue to build quality adult social care services that make a real difference to the lives of our residents.”