Action plan on adult social care given go-ahead

10.10.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 23rd May 2008

• AN action plan to further improve adult social care services was given the go-ahead by Richmond Council's Cabinet on May 12.

The move comes in the wake of a rigorous inspection of the Council's adult social services by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The inspection took place in January this year, part of a programme of similar inspections across the country to check how vulnerable adults are safeguarded from potential abuse or exploitation. The inspection also looked at how well services for older people meet their needs, ie whether they are personalised. During their visit, the inspection team met with older people and their carers, staff and managers from the Council and representatives from other organisations. CSCI inspectors attended Monday's Cabinet meeting to present their report and members were able to question them about its findings. An improvement action plan was agreed which will be monitored on a regular basis by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. In their report CSCI inspectors concluded that the delivery of personalised services for older people in the borough was "good". They rated the safeguarding of adults as "adequate". They also concluded that the Council's capacity to improve its performance was "promising".

Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing, Cllr Denise Carr, said: "The safeguarding of adults is a key priority for the Council and it is absolutely vital that we provide the best possible services for the many vulnerable people who depend on them. Partnership working is key, of course, and we are determined to ensure that inter-agency procedures with the many organisations who are dedicated to helping vulnerable people and their carers are as rigorous and effective as possible. We welcome the CSCI findings and have agreed an action plan that addresses the areas of weakness identified by the report. We are absolutely determined to improve performance in those areas and also build on our strengths. Our action plan will be closely monitored to ensure that the goals we set are achieved."