Council that oversaw increase in care home admissions is first to be rated ‘inadequate’ on social care

A local authority that failed to listen to disabled people who wanted to stay out of residential care has become the first in England to be rated as “inadequate” over its adult social care responsibilities.

A report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) awarded Blackpool Council just 12 points out of a possible 36 across nine areas for how it meets its duties under the Care Act.

The assessment found a “culture of making decisions for people with care and support needs often with the intention of protecting them rather than allowing them to make their own choices”.

CQC said the council needed to do more to “maximise people’s independence for longer”, following an increase in permanent admissions to care homes.

One disabled person who was living in a care home told CQC they had “never had the need for residential care, did not want to be there, and were not listened to”, while another said they “could not understand how they had ended up in a care home and did not feel that their wishes had been taken in to account”.

The report found there had been an increase in permanent admissions to care homes, particularly among working-age people.

The report also found “risks to people’s wellbeing”, while “not all people had their human rights respected and protected”, and there were “concerns about staff confidence in carrying out safeguarding work”.

The report also highlighted a “serious negative impact on minority groups in Blackpool such as people with needs relating to drug and alcohol use and people who identified within LGBTQIA+”.

Blackpool Council is the first of the 55 local authorities to be assessed so far that CQC has rated as inadequate.

Blackpool is the most deprived local authority in England, with “severe social inequalities and health disparities”, CQC said, but the council only had “fragmented plans to tackle these issues”.

It often failed to provide disabled people with information in the accessible format they had requested, and it did not always take “timely action” to support people who were otherwise at risk of needing more formal support, CQC said in the assessment report.

And it “needed to do more to understand the impact that waiting for assessments had on people”.

James Bullion, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, said: “Without clear direction and effective collaboration, the authority risks continuing to fall short for the people who rely on its care and support the most.

“We have told leaders at Blackpool Council where they need to improve, and we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements when we return.”

Cllr Neal Brookes, the council’s deputy leader and its cabinet member for adult social care, said the CQC report was “a difficult read” although it was “very important to note that the inspectors found no evidence to suggest adults were unsafe”.

He said: “Adults in Blackpool deserve the highest quality of care when they need it and I am committed to putting the processes in place to make sure that happens.

“There are areas of good work highlighted in the report, including the care and passion of our staff.

“In fact, Blackpool Council performs well and above average in most of the government’s surveys looking at adult social care performance, including people’s satisfaction of care.

“But there are also areas where we need to improve and do better.

“We won’t shy away from the work we need to do.

“Our independently chaired improvement board is already meeting and we will be assessing each risk that has been raised by the CQC and addressing it.”

Picture of Blackpool Town Hall by Google

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