A report by a government watchdog has highlighted urgent concerns.
A government watchdog has slammed Salford council’s adult social care service as ‘inadequate’, after people needing care were ‘left waiting several years’ for assessments, concerns were ‘ignored’, and ‘human rights were not respected’.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the service as ‘inadequate’ in all areas and has demanded the council make urgent improvements. The local authority says it is ‘taking the findings seriously’ and that it had already started taking more direct control over its social care from its care provider Northern Care Alliance Trust (NCA). The lead for adult social care, deputy mayor John Merry, has been asked to step down.
A spokesperson for the NCA said it was ‘working closely’ with the local authority to improve the service.
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Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett shared he was ‘shocked’ by the result, and said: “It’s not what I expected for Salford, it’s not what I expected for the town hall, and above all it’s not what what I expected for our residents.”
In a statement, he added: “I am deeply disappointed by the report’s findings and I want to reassure you that we are changing how adult social care in Salford is delivered and we are going to fix this.”
An inspection conducted in November and published on May 15 found several major issues with the council’s services, which includes additional support for adults with learning disabilities, elderly care, occupational therapy, and support for unpaid carers.
Chris Badger, CQC’s chief inspector, said: “There needs to be more awareness of the needs of the local community, so people receive the support they need, and inequalities are reduced. This wasn’t happening, which was putting people at risk of harm and giving them a reduced quality of life.
“We have told leaders at Salford City Council where rapid and widespread improvement is needed. We are aware that the authority is in the process of bringing services back under its direct control, and we are hopeful that this approach will help address some of the issues we have identified, and support more consistent and effective care going forward.”
The report foun some people were left waiting for ‘several years’ for a care assessment – a review conducted by the council to identify what support a person might need for daily living, which is needed to access care. This ‘resulted in harm to people which impacted on their physical wellbeing’, according to inspectors.
Waits for occupational therapy were particularly long, with one carer telling the watchdog their relative had been ‘unable to access their shower for several months due to assessment waiting times, leading to a deterioration in their health’.
The CQC also found problems with safeguarding and had to refer four cases to the safeguarding team during their inspection. One of these had to be escalated with social workers.
“This missed concern was only identified as a result of CQC finding it,” an inspector wrote. “When we spoke with senior leaders regarding this, they accepted that the correct safeguarding legislative framework was not used by either the social worker or the care provider involved.”
The report also found significant problems with the way financial assessments and advice were dealt with at the council. One carer started receiving debt collection notices from the local authority, ‘causing significant distress’. It later emerged they had not only been paying the necessary charges, but were owed a refund by the local authority for overpaying.
Most carers were also unaware they were eligible for direct payments – a one-off sum of money paid to carers to give them time to look after their own well-being, according to inspectors. The scheme has nationally proved vital for supporting unpaid carers, who often are responsible for round-the-clock care for their relatives.
Overall, the watchdog found that the service only took individual’s personal wishes into account in 50 per cent of cases, leading an inspector to conclude ‘people don’t have their human rights respected’ when it comes to what care decisions are made for them. People leaving hospital or care facilities often ‘felt unsafe and unsupported’, and services were ‘siloed and disjointed’, the report continued.
A big concern raised by care-givers was also communication, with many sharing they had pursued formal complaint routes just to get an answer from the necessary service – and were often left dissatisfied with the reply.
Mayor Paul Dennett said the results were partly due to the way social care has operated in the city over the last decade, using a ‘complex set of arrangements’ with Salford Royal Foundation Trust initially from 2016 and the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust since 2021. The city was one of the trailblazers for joining ‘integrated partnerships’ in 2016 – effectively out-sourcing care services to the NHS and local health providers – and was lauded for it at the time.
But the CQC’s report is now viewed as a ‘lesson in not following national gimmicks’, according to senior members of the council.
Coun Dennett said: “These arrangements haven’t delivered consistently good outcomes for Salford people, and they have not given us the grip and accountability that we need. This is why, in April last year well before this report was published, we made the decision to bring Adult Social Care back under the direct leadership and management of the City Council.
“On behalf of the City Council I want to apologise unreservedly to those residents and families who have had poor experiences of adult social care in Salford or have had to endure long waiting times for services.
“This isn’t the level of service and quality of provision I expect as your Directly Elected Mayor. Adult social care arrangements in the city have simply not been fit for purpose and my personal commitment to you is that we are going to fix this. We will take back control of social care, bringing the staff and services back home safely to the City Council, supporting our residents and families to live healthy lives.”
The council said it has already launched a process of bringing the services back ‘in-house’, alongside an improvement program and an extra £4.5m investment into the service over the next two years. The damning report has also resulted in a change of the guard, with deputy mayor John Merry to step down as cabinet member for Adult Services, Health and Wellbeing.
He will be replaced by coun Tracy Kelly.
Stephen Young, Chief Executive of Salford City Council added: “We are already beginning to see progress but we need to go further and faster and we will.”
NCA Deputy Chief Executive- Suzanne Robinson said the health trust takes the report’s findings ‘very seriously’, and ‘recognises its responsibility’ to make improvements as Salford’s care service provider.
Robinson said: “The report highlights concerns about people’s experiences, including delays, communication and how services work together. We acknowledge that some patients, service users and carers have not received the standard of experience they should reasonably expect. We are sorry for this and are committed to putting it right.
“We are working closely with Salford City Council and system partners to address the issues identified, with a clear focus on improving people’s experience of care and support and ensuring any safety concerns are escalated and acted on.
“Services are expected to transfer back to Salford City Council later this year. Until then, we remain focused on driving improvements, maintaining continuity and working collaboratively to ensure people receive the support they need.”












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