Inspection of Older Adults Services: Bridgend County Borough Council

We undertook an inspection in collaboration with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) (External link) to evaluate how Bridgend County Borough Council is promoting independence and preventing escalating needs for older adults.

Key Findings

Strengths

Well-being – We found the vision for adult social care is very well embedded in Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) and partner agencies. Significant and successful efforts have been made to ensure individual practice is person-centred and outcome focussed.

People – voice and choice – BCBC engages well with people to inform and shape service developments and individually people felt their voice and choices had been heard. Staff were positive and committed to their roles.

Partnerships, integration and co-production – We found good integrated health and social care services within BCBC adult services that benefits people through quick decision-making and a joined-up approach.

Prevention and early intervention – We found there is a good range of community groups within BCBC of particular interest to older people. We found good early intervention to prevent escalation of need.

Areas for improvement

Well-being – we identified that support provided to assist people back into their homes following admission to hospital is not always available when people need it. BCBC should review its practice of sending people information to self-fund care when reablement and enablement services are not available to ensure this is in line with legislation. BCBC should ensure its system for arranging domiciliary care is as efficient as possible.

People voice and choice – we identified that delays for people accessing certain services impacts on meeting their identified needs at the earliest opportunity. The active offer for people to receive support through the Welsh language is not fully in place.

Partnerships integration and co-production – we recommend discharge arrangements at the Princess of Wales hospital require improvement to ensure older people’s health and well-being does not deteriorate due to unnecessarily extended periods of hospital admission. Some processes within social services could be simplified to increase timely help to people.

Prevention and early intervention –BCBC should improve on consistent signposting of people to services and its quality assurance. BCBC must ensure all 15 minute calls in domiciliary care meet legislative requirements. BCBC must ensure sufficient support to carers who need a short break from caring responsibilities.

Next steps

CIW and HIW expect the local authority and local health board to give attention to areas for improvement in the report. CIW will monitor progress through its on-going performance evaluation activity with Bridgend County Borough Council.

To view all our findings and recommendations read the full report below.